


Destined

by rubberduckz84



Series: Twilight Reporter Series [3]
Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Crime Scenes, F/M, Mystery, Romance, Shapeshifting, Thriller, Volturi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:14:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 67,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23116042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubberduckz84/pseuds/rubberduckz84
Summary: Mara and Embry are trying to settle into living together when their new neighbors bring about all sorts of unexpected changes. Changes that bring some of the wolves and Cullens back to their doorstep. What’s more, it seems that their life is about to collide with Cecily and Demetri’s.
Relationships: Demetri (Twilight)/Original Character(s), Embry Call/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Twilight Reporter Series [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1556449
Comments: 7
Kudos: 18





	1. Won't You Be My Neighbor?

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I left the door open for a continuation of these stories and the world that I created. And then suddenly, just when I thought I was going to take a break from fanfiction to focus on my original fiction because I was out of ideas and nothing I had started on already was calling to me, this story hit me. (Thanks coronavirus! No really - I’m under self-quarantine for preventive measures and have SO MUCH time on my hands for writing and plotting right now.) And in such a way that I could maybe close things up for Mara and Embry AND Cecily and Demetri. Or not. For now, I’m considering this the final part, but I’m not closing that door completely. 
> 
> This is a direct continuation to both “The Turning of Cecily Stewart” and “What Happened in the Forest” so I suggest you give those two a read before continuing on. Unless you don’t really care, then by all means continue. ;)

Mara huffed slightly as she pulled the heavy box out of the back of the pick-up truck, wondering just what exactly Embry had packed in there - rocks? He hadn’t had much to move in, thankfully, but the few boxes and suitcases he had brought seemed to all weigh about 100 pounds each. Well, that was likely an exaggeration, but it felt that way.

She made a mental note to get into the gym more and start lifting weights.

“Mar! I told you I could handle carrying everything in,” Embry called out, grinning as he jogged down the driveway towards her and quickly took the box from her arms as though it weighed nothing. He then bent down and kissed her cheek. Even though she had on a heavy coat, he was in a t-shirt and athlete shorts, causing Mara to silently curse his wolf genes for making him a walking furnace. 

She was constantly cold now that the winter chill was in full swing.

“Well, forgive me for wanting to help,” she replied, slipping slightly on a bit of lingering slush on the driveway. 

“You already helped by clearing out space for my things,” he said as she put the tailgate back up and followed him into the house. “And you said that you were in charge of dinner tonight so that I could unpack.” 

“I know… but wanted to do more since I’m excited that my boyfriend is finally moving in,” she said, a smile on her face. The last four months had gone by quickly with Embry driving to Seattle every weekend. But he was finally here.

For some reason, Mara felt like she was finally an adult. She was in a committed relationship with a wonderful man, who was now living with her.

“How did your mom take the news?” Embry shouted, already starting towards the stairs. 

Mara paused in taking off her coat, her small bubble of happiness popping as she felt her cheeks heat up. She was suddenly glad that he couldn’t see her, otherwise he would know that she was lying. 

“Oh, well…” she started as she pulled her coat off and hung it up, then started to the kitchen.

Before she had made it, he was grabbing her waist and turning her around to face him. Stupid shapeshifter genes that made him faster than the average human.

“You didn’t tell her,” he stated, a frown on his face. “I thought we discussed this.” 

“Well… I mean, can you blame me? You know how she is,” Mara whined. “She likes you, but she’s not going to be happy about… this... and she won’t understand why you’re already moving in.” Embry just stared at her. “She doesn’t know about the wolf stuff.”

“So, where exactly does she think I’m living? And you know she’ll figure it out the next time she comes over,” he replied. Mara sighed.

“I know. I’ll tell her. I promise. Before she comes to visit,” she said. Embry just raised his eyebrows at her. “I promise!” He then smiled and pecked her on the lips. “Now… I need to start on dinner.” 

Mara managed to extricate herself from his arms, albeit slightly reluctantly, and turned to walk into the kitchen. Embry walked over and sat at the island as she set about to pulling pots and pans out. 

“How was work this week?” he asked casually.

“Eh, the usual. Simmons still making my life hell while Richard feeds me the occasional interesting story with his usual, ‘Chin up, kid. You’ll be getting the big stories soon enough,’” Mara replied dryly.

“Simmons still pissed about the story going nowhere?” Embry asked. 

“Yep,” she said. “I mean, I almost feel bad for him. He keeps digging at it and then I occasionally step in and throw him off. Which goes completely over his head. And I can’t tell him that the reason the leads died out was because it was a vampire that was responsible. And he’s dead.”

Embry couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at the thought of Mara messing with the grumpy, seasoned crime reporter. She had gotten rather good at throwing him off the truth over the last four months. And getting away with it.

“Does Richard know he’s still looking into it?” he asked, a slight bit of concern filling his eyes. Mara snorted as she looked over at him.

“You honestly think he’d still be looking into it if Richard knew he was?” she asked. Embry laughed and shook his head as Mara turned back to dinner preparations. “But I have to admit… Seattle’s gotten a bit boring.”

“What? No juicy murder to keep you entertained?” Embry quipped. Mara shot him a look.

“You know what I mean,” she said. “So… what all do you have left to do before class starts next week? Get all your books ordered?”

“Yea. Should be here this week. And I think I have some sort of transfer student orientation on Friday,” he said. Mara glanced over at him again.

“You ready to be a college student?” she asked, grinning. Embry was quiet a moment and then nodded, starting to smile in return.

“I am. It’ll be nice… only having to worry about class and homework. No going on perimeter checks or looking out for rogue vampires,” he said. “Coming home to you every day.”

“That’s the part I’m looking forward to,” Mara said before walking over and kissing him. He glanced over at the stove at the pot of boiling water Mara had just put on, and then looked back at her, his eyebrows raised.

“You know… I’m not that hungry at the moment…”

Mara let out a small shout as he stood and threw her over his shoulder and then stepped over to turn off the stove.

“Embry Call!” she shouted, banging her fists against his back. “There are better ways to get me in bed!”

“Yea, but this way is more fun,” he replied as he quickly made his way to the stairs and then up, Mara laughing the entire way. 

Once they reached their bedroom, he flopped her down on the bed, then quickly moved to take his shirt off.

Mara wondered if she would ever get used to the sight of Embry without his shirt on. It always seemed to take her breath away and she couldn’t help but once again thank his wolf genes. He then crouched down, crawling up the bed until he met her lips in a heated kiss. Mara laid back down, pulling him with her, though he managed to keep all his weight on his forearms, lest he crush her. 

Mara wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer.

“Now this… I could get used to this every day,” she said, looking up at him with a playful smile. Embry chuckled before kissing her again. He had just slid his hand up under her shirt when the doorbell chimed.  “Ignore it,” Mara ordered before starting to kiss his neck.

“Could be the neighbors. They know we’re home,” he said, though his eyes fluttered closed. God, he didn’t want to stop.

“They’ll come back later if it’s important,” Mara replied as she rolled her hips against his. Embry hissed slightly at the contact. It was getting harder to fight her off as he felt her lips move back up his neck to his chin.

The doorbell rang again. 

Mara sighed as she laid back on the bed and Embry rolled off her. 

“I’ll take care of them,” she said, sitting up and looking over at him. Her eyes traveled down and then back up. “Better be ready for me.” 

Embry chuckled as he sat up and watched her walk out of the room. 

How had he gotten so lucky?

~~~

Mara sighed as she plodded down the stairs and then over to the front door, cursing her neighbors and their timing. She straightened her shirt and placed a smile on her face before she pulled the door open. She was surprised to find a young, incredibly attractive couple standing on her doorstep that she didn’t recognize. The woman held a large gift basket, but both were dressed in what looked like church clothes.

Jesus Christ, if they were Jehovah’s Witnesses, heads would roll.

“Hi, neighbor,” the man said brightly. A bit too brightly. Great, Mara thought. Jehovah’s Witnesses had moved into the Clarks’ house across the street. They were her  _ neighbors _ .

“Hi,” Mara said, reluctantly.

“We just moved in across the street and wanted to introduce ourselves,” the woman said, smiling just as brightly. Though Mara couldn’t help but think she had the most beautiful voice ever. It was light and airy, like a spring day. Great. She had neighbors who were Jehovah’s Witnesses who were also inexplicably attractive. 

“I’m Lila and this is my husband Bruce.”

“The Walkers,” he added, sticking his hand out. Mara shook it, noticing that his hands felt a bit cold through his glove. Just how long had the two been walking around the neighborhood handing out baskets?

“Mara Winslow,” she said. “My boyfriend Embry lives here as well. He’s, um… upstairs at the moment.”

“Really nice to meet you,” Lila said. “I just… put this together. Wanted to do a little something for the new neighbors.” She held out the basket. Mara accepted it, finding it odd, but thoughtful. Okay, maybe they weren’t Jehovah’s Witnesses. Glancing at it, she saw a few of her favorite scented candles. And a large package of her favorite chocolate.

Definitely not bad people, she decided.

“Thanks, you didn’t have to do that,” she replied. 

“Oh, well, Lila used to work at a florist, so she can whip up a bunch of this in no time,” Bruce said, chuckling.

“Guilty,” Lila added. “But we wanted to introduce ourselves. And maybe sometime soon we can have you and Embry over for dinner. It's nice to find another young couple in the neighborhood.”

“Sure. Nice to meet you,” Mara replied, starting to step back. As happy as she was about the gift basket - and the fact that her new neighbors didn’t seem to be crazy people - she did have a half-dressed wolf upstairs waiting for her.

You know, priorities.

“You as well!” Bruce said as she shut the door. Mara looked down at the basket and then walked over and sat it down on the island. She then hurried back upstairs.

~~~

Embry could smell it before Mara even reached the room. He was up on his feet moving towards the bedroom door when she walked in and stopped, noting the look on his face. 

“Who was that?” he growled, his body bristling. 

“Just… new neighbors. What’s wrong?” she asked, stepping closer to him. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath, his eyes opening as his entire body went rigid. She was coated in the sickly scent of two vampires.

“They’re here,” he said. “More.” Mara’s eyes widened as she looked down at her hands and then up at Embry.

“I knew there was something off about them. No one is that cheerful. Though I thought they were Jehovah’s Witnesses,” she said, frowning.

“Gotta get over your thing with Jehovah’s Witnesses, but not the point,” Embry said.

“Right. Our new neighbors are vampires,” Mara said, getting back on track. She looked towards the bedroom door. “They looked so normal. I mean, really beautiful, but mostly normal.”

“That’s what they want you to think,” Embry said, already walking towards the door.

“What are you doing,” Mara shouted, reaching out to stop him. He turned to look at her, his protective instincts starting to take over. He had to do whatever he could to protect her. And that meant killing the cold-blooded vampires that had just moved in. “Embry… maybe we should talk to them first? They seemed nice.”

“Why?” he growled. “They’re only here for one reason.”

Mara backed up from him slightly, a tinge of fear entering her eyes as she took in his tense posture. Embry took a deep breath and attempted to calm down. The last thing he wanted was to hurt Mara. He needed to keep control of himself.

Plus he had already destroyed her deck and dining table once. He didn’t want to add more house renovations to the list.

“But, what if they’re like the Cullens? They could be here to blend in,” she countered.

“Not all vampires are like the Cullens,” he replied, fighting to keep his voice calm. “If I leave them alone, they could slaughter everyone.”

“You don’t know that,” Mara shouted back. “Maybe we should… call the Cullens. Before you go and try and kill them. You barely took care of the last one and that was with help. We’re looking at two vampires - not one.” He didn’t reply. Mara pulled him into her arms, the scent of vampire overwhelming the smell of lavender that usually coated her and calmed him. “I don’t want to lose you.” 

He sighed and kissed her head, knowing she was right as the instinct to shift and fight started draining from him and rational thought took over. It wouldn’t do for the entire neighborhood to see a giant wolf running around. Not in broad daylight. If he did anything, it would need to wait for the cover of night. And he didn’t want to say it out loud, but she was also right about taking on both of them on his own. 

He’d need the others. 

“Go take a shower. You reek of vampire,” he said. Mara just stared up at him. “I’m not going to do anything while you’re in the shower except call Jacob.” She smiled and pecked him on the lips, then turned towards the bathroom.

“You sure you don’t want to join me?” she called out, swaying her hips slightly. Embry followed her with his eyes, feeling the desire from earlier starting to well up in him again.

Maybe the phone call could wait. 

She had already pulled her shirt off and dropped it on the ground and was moving to shimmy out of her pants. That was all it took for him to make a decision. 

Mara had just disappeared into the bathroom, the water now on. Embry waited a bit then hurried in, finding Mara already under the water. She wet her hair down and looked over at him, smiling crookedly as she beckoned him to get in. 

Yes, the phone call could definitely wait.

~~~

Mara looked over from the stove, a look of worry on her face as she watched Embry on the phone. She wasn’t even sure why she was cooking - she wasn’t even hungry - but she needed something to do with her hands otherwise she would be pacing and Embry was doing enough of that for the both of them.

While what turned into a rather long shower had temporarily distracted both of them, they were now fully focused on the current crisis.

“Yea, two of them,” Embry said, pacing in front of the island. He glanced over at Mara. “They just… came to the door and introduced themselves to Mara.” He kept pacing. “Man and woman, yes.” He stopped and looked over at Mara. He then sighed and walked over, holding the phone out. “He wants to talk to you.”

Mara stepped away from the stove and took the phone.

“Hey, Jacob,” she said lightly. 

“What happened?” he growled. She winced slightly.

“Sheesh, how was I supposed to know that two vampires were going to show up on my doorstep!” she nearly shouted.

“Sorry,” Jacob said, sounding much calmer. “What happened?”

“Well, I was helping Embry move his things in,” she stopped and glanced over at him, her cheeks turning slightly red, “and then the doorbell rang. I answered it and there was a couple. Really beautiful, you know and all that. They gave me a gift basket. Said they just wanted to introduce themselves. Then they left.”

“And that’s it?” Jacob asked. 

“Yea, that’s it,” she said. “Said they live across the street. Oh wait, they said they wanted to have us over for dinner sometime.” There was silence on the other end as she looked over at Embry. 

“Give Embry the phone,” Jacob ordered. She held it out and he took it back.

“Yea?” he asked. He nodded his head. “Okay. Got it.” He then hung up. 

“What does he want you to do?” Mara asked, her eyes filled with concern as she walked up to him. Embry sighed.

“Keep an eye on them, but nothing more,” he said. “He’s calling the Cullens. I’m not supposed to approach them or shift. Not until we know what they want.”

“Okay,” she said, nodding. “I’ll help.”

“No, Mara. You’re staying far from them,” he said sternly. Mara rolled her eyes.

“If you’re just watching them, then there’s no harm in me helping,” she said, planting her hands on her hips.

“This is not a story for you to follow, Mara. We’re talking about vampires! Or have you forgotten how dangerous they are?” he shouted. Mara eyes widened, but then she narrowed them, stepping closer to Embry.

“Get this straight, Embry Call. If there are vampires in  _ my _ neighborhood, then  _ I’m _ going to do whatever I can to help keep it safe!” she shouted back, stabbing him in the shoulder with her finger. If he weren’t so worried about her well-being, he would have laughed at her attempts. He barely registered the poke as it was and from the way she grimaced, it hurt her more than it hurt him.

“Right, and do you remember how well you did against the last one?” he asked. Mara didn’t say anything, just scowled up at him.

“Do you remember how well  _ you _ did up against the last one?” she shot back. The two glared at each other a few moments. 

“You’re not going near them,” he said. “But you can watch from the house.” Mara thought it over. He could tell that she wasn’t completely happy with the compromise, but she would take it. She nodded and turned back to the stove, finishing up dinner.

“So… the day you move in and vampires move in across the street,” Mara said, glancing over at him, her playful smirk back on her face. Embry couldn’t help but chuckle at the ridiculousness of it. He had moved to Seattle to get away from this. “How you think they’re going to handle a werewolf next door?”

“Not a werewolf,” he said. 

“Right. Shapeshifter,” she corrected. 

“Probably not expecting that,” he said, moving to grab some plates from the cupboard.

“Why do you think they’re here?” she then asked. “I mean… moving into a suburb. Doesn’t really seem like… vampire stuff.”

“And what do you know about vampires?” he asked, raising his eyebrows at her, though he was smiling. Mara snorted.

“I know enough,” she said. “But you have to admit that it seems out of character.” Embry sighed and nodded.

“Maybe? I mean, the subdivision is small and rather secluded, but outside of the Cullens, I’ve never heard of vampires settling down,” he said. “Did you see their eyes?”

“Must have been wearing contacts. They weren’t red or that weird topaz of the Cullens,” Mara replied, moving the food over to the island. “Otherwise I would have known immediately.” 

“So we don’t know what kind of vampires they are,” he said, sitting down. Mara walked around and sat next to him.

“Well… whatever reason they’re here for. We’ll figure it out,” she said, smiling at him. “Together.” Embry just stared at her. “ _ Together _ .” 

“Fine. Together.” 

Mara smiled happily as she turned to her food.

“Tuck in. You’re going to need it.” 


	2. Calling in Reinforcements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the threat of the new neighbors unknown, the packs and Cullens decide they need to go assess the threat themselves.

**Calling in Reinforcements**

Jacob quickly walked into Sam and Emily’s house, stopping to look around the kitchen. He saw Emily at the stove, her large stomach getting a bit in the way as she cooked. She only had a couple months until she was due and every day Sam got more and more anxious about the arrival of the new little one.

And now he had one more thing to worry about when he should be focusing on the arrival of his daughter.

“He’s in the living room,” Emily said, smiling over at him. “Take those muffins with you.” Jacob nodded and grabbed a plate piled with muffins and walked into the living room. He picked one up and took a bite before placing the plate on the coffee table as Sam walked over from the window he had been staring out.

“Any news?” he asked.

“Embry watched the house all night and said he didn’t see them leave. I’ve called the Cullens and they said that they’re going to send someone to Seattle to look into it,” Jacob replied after chewing. “I think we should send some of the wolves down.” Sam studied him a moment and then sighed, rubbing his face.

“Seattle is a big city. Don’t you think a pack of oversized wolves will draw attention?” he asked. “Maybe we should let the Cullens handle this one. We don’t even know if they’re a threat yet. And besides… we’re supposed to protect _our_ lands. Not Seattle.”

“We’re supposed to protect _our pack_. And Embry and Mara are still part of that pack even if they’re in Seattle,” Jacob said emphatically. 

“Your pack,” Sam said automatically.

“Yea, and he’s your brother,” Jacob said quickly. “Doesn’t that count for something?” Sam winced and for a moment, Jacob regretted throwing that at him. But he couldn’t help but feel like they should go, and he knew it was the best way to get Sam to agree to send some of his pack.

Jacob had already decided that he was going whatever Sam said. 

With Nessie up in Vancouver, he was starting to run out of things to distract himself from her absence. Sure he could go visit - and last time she had asked him to move up there with her until she finished school. But his responsibility was here in La Push. He was an alpha, after all. Leader of his pack. He was needed here. And the latest development in Seattle was as good as anything to get his mind off their prolonged separation.

Not to mention, he could tell that Edward was starting to get a bit annoyed with his frequent unexpected visits.

“Fine. Take Paul if you insist on going. But the rest of my pack stays here,” Sam said firmly. “And I suggest that you leave some of your pack as well.” Jacob nodded and turned, already going over whatever needed to be done before they left. “And Jacob…” He stopped and turned back to Sam. “It’s going to be harder to shift there - it’s not like here. Be careful.”

“Don’t have to remind me,” Jacob replied before turning and striding out of the house. He needed to go find Quil and Paul first, then inform the rest of the pack what was going on. 

Then it was time to hit the road.

~~~

Cecily chuckled as she walked into the large house, easily towing her suitcase behind her.

“Did you really have to do that?” she asked, glancing back at Alice.

“Cess!” 

She turned just in time to catch Renesmee as she careened into her, throwing her arms about Cecily’s neck.

“Wow, seems like you missed me, kid,” she said lightly as she hugged the young woman back. Even with everything Cecily had seen and learned in her three years as a vampire, she still was taken aback by Nessie. She had been a teenager when Cecily joined the Cullens, and now she looked like she was in her early or mid-20s. A grown woman.

Some days if Cecily thought about it too hard, she couldn’t wrap her mind around it. So, she decided to just stop thinking about it. Unfortunately, even though she looked older, Nessie was still very much a kid in Cecily’s eyes.

“Of course,” Renesmee replied as she stepped back from her, grinning. 

“Better go hug everyone else or they’ll think you’re playing favorites,” Cecily said with a wink as she continued into the house that they had settled in while the youngest Cullen finished her first college degree. 

“You’re my favorite too,” Demetri whispered in her ear as he slid his arm around her waist, causing her to jump slightly and curse. He still managed to surprise her even after years of being mates. Granted, he had been a vampire a lot longer than she had - about 2,000 or so years longer, to be specific.

“God, you’re so cheesy,” Cecily said with an eye roll as she continued on into the large kitchen where she found Edward, Bella, Carlisle and Esme seated at a large table, all wearing concerned looks. She stopped abruptly, wondering if something had happened to Rosalie and Emmett. The couple had been traveling with her, Demetri, Alice and Jasper, though they separated in Asia as the two hoped to spend a few more weeks in Cambodia alone.

“Everything okay?” she asked. She felt Alice and Jasper step in behind her and Demetri.

“We just got a call from Jacob,” Carlisle said. “Embry and Mara said two vampires have moved into their neighborhood.” 

“What? But I thought we just took care of a rogue vampire problem,” she said without thinking. Honestly, she was hoping to catch up with the family for a bit before she and Demetri set out on another trip. There were still far too many countries for the two to see and visit. Too many bed frames to break.

But seeing the looks on her family’s faces told Cecily that they were going to have to put those plans on hold.

“What’s the damage?” she asked with a sigh.

“They haven’t killed anyone,” Edward said. “Not yet, anyway. They’ve literally moved into a house across the street.” Cecily was dumbfounded by the statement.

Moving into a neighborhood surrounded by humans seemed a bit odd for creatures who tended to live in the shadows and in general hide their existence. Even the Cullens lived in a rather wooded and secluded area of Vancouver a fair bit off from the other homes around them.

“I take it that you wish for us to go check into them,” Demetri said, suddenly all business. Cecily fought off a groan. She seriously wanted to tell them to send someone else - they had taken the last emergency. And that was only four months ago. She wanted time alone with her mate.

Everyone else got time alone with their mates. Had had years of it. She was due some quality time with hers, right? It wasn’t fair.

But at the same time, she knew that they were going. That they had to go. No one else was going to look out for that area of the country. And if things got out of hand, Demetri would likely be called into to look into it by the Volturi anyway. Best to get ahead of the situation.

“I know that you were hoping to head off to South America soon, but we feel like it’s best if you go. Since Demetri is a tracker,” Carlisle said, a look of apology already painting his features. 

“We can go too,” Alice said from Cecily’s other side. The redhead looked over at her, an eyebrow raised. “It’s only fair since we didn’t go last time.” 

“Couldn’t hurt. Alice could start watching them, maybe find out why they’re there faster,” Cecily said. 

“Good, then it’s settled,” Carlisle said, seeming a bit more at ease. “And for all we know, it might be nothing.” 

“Certainly hope so,” Cecily muttered as she turned to head to her and Demetri’s room to unpack. 

“Better give me my presents before you leave!” Renesmee called out after her. Cecily smiled as she looked over her shoulder and winked at her, before turning back. 

“So, what’s the plan?” she asked, already hearing the others following.

“Drop our stuff off, then run to the Forks house. We can get things from there and then drive the rest of the way to Seattle,” Alice said cheerfully. Cecily sighed.

“Let’s get to it, then…”

~~~

Mara sighed as she pulled into the garage and turned off her car before closing the garage door behind her. She had gone out to meet up with her best friend Katie just to get out of the house for a bit. Embry had taken to stalking the new neighbors from the upstairs guest room and while she had joined him for a time, she found it boring after a couple of hours when they did nothing worth watching. According to Embry they hadn’t left the house all night. 

While she knew that she would need to learn to get used to stakeouts - especially if she wanted to move up in the ranks of the crime desk - she found herself going a bit crazy with the prolonged silence and just sitting there. 

But maybe there would be an update.

She got out of the car and slammed the door shut behind her before walking over to the door that led into the house via the laundry room. As soon as she opened the door, she stopped, hearing more than one voice in the house. She looked back into the garage, seeing Embry’s truck parked next to hers and wondering who was there. She hadn’t seen any other cars parked outside. 

Wait, no. She had seen two SUVs parked on the street.

She turned back to the house and quickly continued in. When she stepped into the foyer, she stopped, finding the living room rather full with three wolves and four vampires convening around Embry, the wolves obviously taking up far more space.

“Mara!”

She remained frozen as Paul walked over and picked her up in a bear hug and then placed her back down on the ground. 

“Good to see you,” he said, still grinning.

“You too,” she replied, a bit dazed as she looked at him and then at the group. She knew Quil and Jacob, of course. Then Cecily and Demetri. Her gaze then settled on the two people that she didn’t recognize standing next to them. The woman seemed impossibly small and almost pixie-like, while the man was blonde and tall and wearing a stern expression on his face. 

“I leave for a few hours and you call in reinforcements?” she said, her gaze travelling over to Embry, who looked a bit sheepish.

“I didn’t tell them to come,” he said immediately. “But… the guys are going to need a place to stay for a few days…”

“You don’t have to worry about us,” Cecily said quickly, offering Mara a warm smile as she interrupted Embry. “We’ll be in and out most of the time. And we don’t sleep. We can stay out of your way.” 

Mara just blinked, a bit overwhelmed. What the hell was going on? Why was her house now a supernatural hotel?

“Okay… can someone tell me what’s going on?” she asked, looking over at Embry.

“Well… Jacob thought that he should come check things out,” he started. “He called the Cullens and they also thought that they should send someone.” Mara nodded slowly and looked back at the group. 

“I’m going to need to go grocery shopping again,” she muttered softly to herself before pasting a smile on her face and moving to the living room.

The woman that Mara didn’t know laughed softly - obviously hearing her - as Demetri smirked and Cecily tried to hide her own smile. The other man didn’t make any sort of expression, just stared at her intently. She brushed off her unease and continued towards them.

“Hi, I’m Mara. Welcome to my-our home,” she said, holding her hand out to the woman.

“Alice Cullen,” she said brightly as she grinned at Mara and shook her hand. She then turned to the blonde man at her side. “This is Jasper Hale. My husband, well, mate, since you know about us.” He made no move to take Mara’s hand, so she just nodded at him instead.

“Nice to meet you,” she said.

“You as well,” he replied politely, though he looked a bit uncomfortable. Mara wasn’t sure if it was the wolves or the fact they were in a neighborhood filled with humans, but shrugged it off as she looked to the wolves. 

“Get over here,” she said, holding her arms out as she grinned. Quil smiled as he walked over and hugged her, Jacob following. “So… did Embry set you up with rooms, or is that up to me?” She glanced over at her boyfriend, an eyebrow raised. 

“We just got here, actually,” Jacob said. “Hadn’t had time.” Mara sighed and nodded. 

“Follow me,” she said, heading towards the stairs. “Then I guess I’m going to the store.”

“No need. We stopped on the way here,” Paul shouted. Mara paused and looked over at them, surprised. “Quil’s idea… thought it might make it a bit easier having a house full of wolves.” She smiled at Quil.

“I knew you were my favorite,” she said before turning and heading up the stairs. “Come on!” 

“She seems rather settled,” Alice commented after they all left. Embry couldn’t help but smile as he looked towards the stairs leading up to the second floor, hearing voices float down the stairs. “As do you.”

“I mean, I just moved in yesterday, but been visiting enough in the last four months that it feels like home,” he said with a smile. “Honestly, it just… feels good to finally imprint on someone. Settle down.” Alice just grinned at him. While she wasn’t particularly close to the wolves - not as much as Renesmee and Bella - she knew enough that he was the oldest of the pack to imprint and that it had happened far later than the others. 

“And now we’re taking over the house,” Cecily said with a sigh. “Hopefully the couple aren’t up to anything nefarious and we can get out of your hair soon enough.” 

“Hopefully,” Embry replied. Things had happened so quickly that he hadn’t had much time to catch up. He was supposed to spend the week getting settled before starting class next week. And now he had a pair of rogue vampires running around his neighborhood and a house full of wolves and vampires.

This was not what he was expecting for his first week living with Mara, to say the least.

“Which house is theirs?” Jasper asked, bringing them back to the reason they were all there.

“Follow me,” Embry said, leading to Mara’s office at the front of the house.

It had previously been her grandmother’s when she was alive and the house was hers – every time Embry walked in, he couldn’t help but think about all the classic mystery novels that had been written here. But that was something for another time.

They walked in and he quickly made his way over, pulling back the curtains. He pointed at the large, two-story house that sat far back from the road just opposite them. “The view is a bit better from the bedroom upstairs.”

“Thankfully the area is wooded enough,” Demetri said. “Should provide us with enough cover to watch. Though we can’t get too close else they’ll know that we’re there.” 

“Unfortunately, there’s not enough for you guys to shift near their place,” Cecily added, looking over at Embry. “Just how were you planning on pulling that off living here?”

“We don’t necessarily _need_ to shift – we’re not werewolves that lose themselves on the full moon or anything, you know. But you’ve seen the woods behind the house,” Embry replied. “They surround the subdivision and on this side butt up to a nature reserve. And there’s a bunch of forest that leads on to the mountains. Plenty of space to run. And you guys can hunt on the reserve and in the mountains if you need it.” 

“Hopefully we won’t need to. We fed before we came,” Jasper said, his gaze fixed on the house across the street. “This vantage point should be good for now. If we open the window, I believe we should be able to hear them should they come outside. We’ll need to get closer at some point though.”

“Couldn’t you guys just… go over and introduce yourselves?” Embry asked. All four vampires stared at him. “I mean… you _are_ vampires too…”

“It’s better to watch them a bit before we engage,” Jasper said, looking back to the house. 

“I’ll get closer and pick up on their essence. That way if they try to run, I can still follow,” Demetri added. “Really, I don’t think there was any reason for the others to come.” Embry looked towards the ceiling, hearing footsteps, shouts and laughter. Honestly, he was starting to think the same thing. This seemed like a situation the vampires were better adept to handle than them.

But it was a bit nice to have some of his pack here. Helped ease the fact that he had left the reservation. He just hoped that having so many people in the house didn’t put Mara out too much. She was used to having the whole place to herself and now in a manner of 24 hours, she had eight housemates - most of which were of the supernatural variety.

“Well, I should get started on dinner. Knowing the guys, they’re probably starving about now,” he said, walking out of the room. He was surprised to find that Cecily and Alice followed him into the living room, figuring they would want to stay and watch the house. 

Mara came down the stairs just as he was walking to the fridge to pull out the hamburger meat and other various food items that the guys had put away as soon as they arrived. 

“What are we making?” she asked.

“Figured hamburgers would be good enough. Can use the grill on the covered porch,” Embry said, still putting things on the island.

“Sounds good to me,” Mara said happily as she made her way to the large pantry and pulling it open. She then stopped. “Shit. They did go shopping.” Embry smiled as he heard her chuckle and then walk in. She came back out, holding a bottle of wine. “And they know me way too well.”

Embry stopped what he was doing and looked at it then back up at Mara, smiling slightly.

“What? I can’t help that it feels like a house party,” she replied, walking to the island and opening a drawer, pulling out a wine opener. She then turned to Cecily and Alice in the living room. “Do you- wait.” She smiled in embarrassment. “Sorry. Forgot for a second that you guys don’t eat or drink anything.” 

“It’s fine. We appreciate the thought,” Alice said, walking closer to her. 

“I wish we could drink,” Cecily said with a heavy sigh as she followed. “Some days I really do miss a good red wine. Or scotch.” Mara chuckled as she worked to open the bottle. 

“So, Alice… how long have you been a vampire...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now I’ve gotten exactly half of the story written and making good pace on it. Now into the “write one, post one,” phase. So, depending on how I keep up the pace, should be able to post at least one chapter a day from here out. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy and thanks for reading!


	3. Whistle While Mara Works

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's just another day at the office. Or so Mara thinks.

**Whistle While Mara Works**

Mara rushed into her office the next day, feeling a bit more tired than usual. She had gotten up early, thinking she would need to make breakfast for the wolves, only to find Embry already at work in the kitchen. He still had the rest of the week until class started and had taken on the duty of keeping them all fed, which she appreciated. 

It was already a bit overwhelming thinking about the idea of just one shapeshifter with a massive appetite in the house. Now that there were four, she had worried how she would be able to keep it up while working full-time.

But Jacob had pulled her aside before she left, promising that they would look after themselves and thanking her for putting them up. Looked as though her house guests were going out of their way to make things easier for her, which she appreciated. 

“What do you got for me, boss?” she asked as she put her coffee tumbler on her desk and turned to her editor Richard as he walked out of his office. While he had been giving her slightly better stories since the one in Forks, she was eager to take on more. 

“Don’t get comfortable. There were two suspicious deaths last night. Think it could be related to the ones a few months ago,” he said gruffly. “Just came over the scanner. Need you to go out to the crime scene.” 

Mara felt her blood run cold. No one had mentioned the couple across the street that morning, but she hadn’t spoken to the vampires. Had they somehow gotten out without being detected and killed two people?

“Thought Simmons was the lead on that story,” she commented, keeping her voice even.

“We both know that he’s got you doing all the legwork. Figured you were ready to be rewarded for your hard work,” Richard said, pausing in front of his office. “Unless you want Simmons to take it?”

“Nope. Got it,” she said, turning around and grabbing her coffee. “Got the address handy?”

“University District,” he said before giving her an exact location. “Check in with Walt when you get back - see if it’s related to the two students that went missing a few days ago.” She nodded and headed straight back out of the office and to her car. Part of her thought she should text Embry or call, but she knew that he would tell her that it was a bad idea going anywhere near a vampire’s hunting ground. 

But she couldn’t stay away. This was her job, after all. Her editor had sent her to the scene. And she couldn’t help but kick herself in the ass for not realizing that it might be related to the UW students that went missing. Then again, she had been looking for strange deaths - not missing persons. 

She would wait before she contacted the others, she decided. Wasn’t worth getting them worked up about something until she had more information anyway. 

“Right,” she said to herself as she got into her car. “That makes sense…”

~~~

Mara parked her car a couple blocks down from the spot, already seeing the hubbub going on. Residents were watching from windows while a few people had gathered on the sidewalks to watch what was going on. She slid her phone into her coat pocket and keys into her purse before starting towards the alley that was roped off. Pulling out a reporter’s book, she flipped through to a blank page and started fishing around in her purse for a pen, wanting to be ready as soon as she got there. 

Hopefully one of the officers working the case was someone she was already familiar with and would be willing to give her something other than “no comment.” 

The closer Mara got to the yellow tape, the heavier the air felt, telling her that this was clearly a murder scene. As she came to a stop just at the tape and tried to peer around the corner, she could smell it as well. 

Whatever had happened to the two people in the alley, it had been intentional. 

Mara wasn’t sure just how long she had had her gift, though she first felt it when she was 15 and came home to find her father dead in his home office, a gunshot wound to the head. At the time she hadn’t understood what it was, just that she knew without a doubt that he hadn’t killed himself. Of course, no one believed her. It wasn’t until her father’s co-workers at The Seattle Times did their own investigation and convinced the police to reopen his case years later did the truth come out that he was murdered because of a story he had been working on.

Her father - Harry Carpenter - had been a Pulitzer-winning investigative reporter up and down the West Coast. Mara hoped to follow in his footsteps, much to her mother’s chagrin. Since then, she had several confrontations with death that proved to her that her gift was the real thing, as unexplainable as it was. And it had come in handy as she worked her way up on the crime desk at her father’s old workplace. A workplace that, thankfully in Mara’s opinion, largely didn’t know she was Harry Carpenter’s daughter.

It allowed her to work up on her own merit and without the pressure of living up to the very large shoes her father had left her. The only person who did know was her editor Richard, but he was a rather no-nonsense man who was equally encouraging and tough on her when necessary.

But standing there at the crime scene, Mara couldn’t help but once again wonder if her father had had the same gift and if that is what helped him to become such a good investigative reporter. Though she quickly dismissed it. Being able to tell that a death was murder and not natural or accidental could only get her so far on a story. She still had to do the necessary work to prove it. 

“Winslow, surprised to see they sent the rookie.” 

She looked over, watching as one of the detectives walked up to her - Kyle Anders. He was younger than some of the others she had seen with the Seattle police, but still carried a weathered look to him. She supposed it was something that all homicide detectives had. Especially ones who were working this particular case, which had gone cold for months until these new deaths. 

What they didn’t know was that they were actually two completely different cases - perpetrated by two different vampires. But Mara could already imagine Anders laughing in her face if she so much as hinted at the truth. However, she couldn’t help as a smug superiority went through her. Anders was an asshole and always enjoyed talking down to her and other reporters. She felt particularly happy that she knew something he didn’t.

“Who were you expecting?” she asked, playing his game for the time being. A faint smile came across his face, though it quickly disappeared. 

“You know I can’t tell you much. Not yet, anyway,” he said sternly.

“Then why are you talking to me?” Mara replied. He just stared at her, but before he could offer a retort or walk away, she stepped closer to the tape. “Can you at least give me confirmation that it’s two bodies?”

“Yes,” he said. 

“Do you know roughly when the attack happened?” she asked. 

“What makes you think it was an attack?” he asked. Mara glanced up from her notebook at him, not sure if he was playing with her or serious.

“We do have a police scanner at the office,” she said, raising an eyebrow at him. He sighed. 

“Two victims - one male, one female. Bodies found around 8 am this morning. Time of death has not yet been confirmed, but based off what we know at the moment, we believe it occurred sometime last night after midnight,” he recited. “They had student IDs, so we also know that they attended UW.”

“And can you confirm that it’s related to the previous attacks from a few months ago?” she asked, looking down at her notebook as she continued to jot down information. 

“Fucking reporters,” he muttered under his breath, causing her to glance up at him. “At first glance, yes, maybe? The wounds appear similar, but more investigation is needed before we can confirm or deny that,” he said. Mara nodded as she wrote down the last bit. “Now, if you’re done, I’ve got work to do. You can find out the rest when we send out the press release.”

“Is it the students who went missing a few days ago?” she called out. He stopped and glared at her. 

“No,” he said before turning and walking off again.

Mara opened her mouth to shout out another question, but he walked into the alley and out of her view. She huffed, looking down at the notebook. It wasn’t a whole lot, but it was about what she expected. She then turned and looked down the street, noting that there were several bars and popular night spots. They would be closed by now, but she could note down the names and make some calls at the office later, hopefully tracking down some leads that way, though it would be hard without knowing who the victims were, other than they were students. She then turned back to the police tape and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Cecily and Demetri standing next to her.

“Jesus Christ!” she shouted, nearly dropping her notebook.

“Figured you’d be here,” Cecily said with a smirk. Mara took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. 

“Shouldn’t you act more… human… in public?” she asked softly, taking in the short brunette wig that covered Cecily’s normally long red curls. Seemed she was still worried someone might recognize her from her last story even though it was years ago. Both vampires were dressed rather casually though in still expensive-looking winter coats. However, their sunglasses made them a bit conspicuous with the cloud cover.

“You were too caught up in your thoughts to notice us walk up. I assure you, it was at a normal speed,” Demetri said lightly. 

“You get anything from the cops?” Cecily asked, turning to face Mara, her reporter side starting to come out. For a bit, Mara thought she was incredibly lucky to have someone like Cecily there. She had been an award-winning investigative reporter when she was alive, after all. If only Richard knew she was there right now. He had been a fan.

“Not much, but… whatever is back there, I know it was murder,” Mara said, looking down at her notebook. 

“And how’s that?” Cecily asked. Mara looked up at her, realizing her slip. 

“I mean, well, it’s obvious, isn’t it? And that’s why you guys are here, right?” she said, stuttering slightly. She couldn’t see Cecily’s eyes behind the sunglasses, but she saw the slight furrow in her brow.

“We were following you,” Demetri said. Mara looked over at him, confused. “Your mate asked us to keep an eye on you. But from the smell of it,” Demetri paused as he took a deep breath through his nose, “I would guess murder.” 

“Wait… Embry asked you two to follow me?” Mara asked, her voice rising slightly. Cecily cleared her throat and nodded her head to the side. Mara looked over, seeing a confused Anders standing there staring at them.

Mara quickly spun on her heels and walked away from the police tape, hearing Cecily and Demetri following. Once they were far enough away, she stopped and turned to them. 

“Seriously?” she said furiously, though managed to keep from shouting this time.

“Well, with new vampires in the area, he figured you’d probably be reporting on possible vampire-related deaths and thought it wouldn’t hurt to have us tag along just in case,” Cecily said. “But more than that, how do you _know_ it’s murder?”

“I told you! My editor heard over the scanner of suspicious deaths, sent me here, and I put two-and-two together,” Mara said. “I cannot _believe_ he-”

“You’re lying,” Demetri said casually, stopping her mid-tirade. Mara looked over at him, frowning. How would he know? “Your heart rate has sped up, which could be because you’re angry with your mate, however, it sped up when Cecily first asked you about how you knew it was murder. Before you became angry. Which tells _me_ that you’re lying.” 

Mara just stared at him and then looked over at Cecily. Both remained stoic. She finally huffed.

“Okay, so… I have this thing,” she started, glancing up and down the sidewalk to make sure that no one was walking towards them. Deeming the coast clear, she continued. “Whenever I’m at a place… I can tell if a death that’s occurred there was intentional. As in murder.”

Both vampires remained silent a few moments before looking at each other and then back at her.

“How long have you had this?” Cecily asked. Mara shrugged.

“Since birth, maybe? The first time I felt it was when I was 15 - which was the first time I was somewhere near death,” she said, shifting on her feet. “I knew that my father didn’t commit suicide. That someone killed him.” 

“Interesting,” Demetri commented. Mara huffed again.

“Whatever. Since you’re both here, is there any way you can maybe get past the tape and then tell me what you see back there?” Mara asked. Cecily chuckled.

“Isn’t that cheating?” she asked. 

“I’m still going to do the legwork!” Mara nearly shouted. “I mean, you should go see if it’s vampire-related anyway, right?”

“We can already tell you that it is,” Demetri said, sounding almost bored.

“Is it the neighbors?” Mara asked, stepping closer to him. He looked at Cecily and then back at Mara. 

“We need to do more investigating. Which we can clearly take care of while you’re… what is it? Doing the legwork? Then when you are ready to head to your office, we’ll escort you,” he said. Mara rolled her eyes.

“Fine,” she said, turning to look at the various buildings and decide where to start. The two were already gone, likely having gone to the alley and moving so quickly that the police would never notice them there.

She needed to get to work asking questions unless she wanted to spend the entire morning walking around in the freezing cold.

~~~

Mara felt tired and sore when she pulled into the driveway that evening. She had certainly put in legwork around the crime scene. It had, in fact, taken all morning and got her a big fat nothing as no one she came across would tell her anything. Mostly because they all claimed that they knew nothing. The rest, she assumed, didn’t want to speak to the press. 

If she was expecting anything useful out of Demetri and Cecily on the ride back to the office, she was disappointed as well. All she got from them was that it was definitely a vampire attack, but she couldn’t really write that in her article. Though she suspected it might help the others. 

She then spent the afternoon making phone calls trying to track down where the couple had been the night before, but that was near impossible as the police had yet to release any identification on the two. She was hoping that they would do so before she left the office so she could go back out tonight when the bars and clubs opened, but there was no such luck, so she headed home exhausted and dejected. 

Not to mention, she had brought home everything she could find about the two missing students, now stuck on the fact that they must be related. She figured it was better to start work on that in her own time, not wanting to tip off Richard, Walt or any of the other reporters that they were related, though she figured it was only a matter of time before someone linked them. She’d need to come up with something to throw them off.

As Cecily and Demetri were nowhere to be found when she got to her car, she assumed they had been called elsewhere or were following her using their vampire skills.

Mara was so tired, that she didn’t register anyone else out and about as she trudged to the mailbox until she heard a light and airy voice call out her name. She froze, looking over to see Lila trotting across the street towards her, her coat open and her hands gloveless, which would have seemed crazy in this weather if Mara didn’t know that she was a vampire. 

“Working late?” Lila asked, a brilliant smile on her face. For a moment, Mara found it really unfair just how beautiful all vampires were. But then she remembered that this quite possibly could be a cold-blooded killer and she stiffened unconsciously. 

“Uh, yea. I’m a reporter with The Seattle Times. Weird hours,” she said, trying to stay calm. 

“Oh, wow. Sounds exciting,” Lila said, stopping close to her. Her dark brown eyes then flicked to Mara’s house and back over to her. While she kept up her smile, Mara could sense a slight shift in her demeanor. 

“It can be,” Mara said, hearing heavy footsteps behind her.

“You must be the new neighbor,” Embry said, stepping up to Mara’s side and sliding an arm around her waist. She could feel that he was tense though his voice sounded relaxed. Mostly because he was gripping her waist rather tightly, though she was thankful for the extra heat now seeping from him through her coat. He stuck his hand out. “Embry Call. Mara’s boyfriend.” 

Lila looked down at his hand and then quickly shook it, her smile never faltering. Mara felt like she was watching some sort of subtle, supernatural battle of the wills. 

“Nice to meet you. Lila Walker,” she said. 

“Mara said you and your husband moved in across the street. Where’d you come from?” he asked.

“Oh, California,” Lila said smoothly. “Bit too warm for our taste.”

“Figured it would be too sunny,” Embry commented. Mara caught herself before she snorted, managing to hide it behind a somewhat believable cough. Both Lila and Embry glanced at her.

“Sorry… think I’m coming down with a cold,” Mara said, smiling sheepishly.

“You two having a party or something?” Lila asked, looking towards the house. Mara was fairly sure that every wolf and vampire there was glued to one of the front windows at the moment. 

“Just some friends visiting from out of town,” Embry said. 

“Ah, well then. Better keep it down or we’ll have to call in a noise complaint,” Lila joked. 

“Yea, right,” Mara said with a nervous laugh. Embry shot her a look that had her silent mid-laugh. “Well… we should get dinner on. Good to see you again, Lila. We should have you and Bruce over soon.” 

“Of course,” Lila said, giving Mara a warm smile. She then looked back at Embry and Mara swore that her eyes turned a bit cold before she turned and started back to her house. 

Mara let out heavy breath before turning and walking to the front door, forgetting about the mail. Embry followed her, though she saw him glance back at Lila out of the corner of her eye. 

“That was fun,” she said dryly once they were inside. “If they didn’t know there was a wolf across the street before, they certainly do now.” 

“That was the point,” Embry said sternly. 

“I know,” Mara said as she walked through the living room to the kitchen. She stopped when she saw the dining table ladened with an outright feast. She turned to Embry and flung her arms around his neck. “That makes me so happy I just might forgive you for sending bodyguards to shadow me.” She kissed him and then turned to make her way to the table as the rest of the pack filed into the living room.

“Don’t blame him. It was my idea as well,” Jacob said. 

“Whatever. Food first and then I’ll decide if I’m still angry or not,” Mara said as she sat down and started filling her plate. It was then that she noticed none of the vampires were there. “Where are the others?”

“Out looking into something,” Paul said, already taking a seat next to her. “Should be back later.” Mara just shrugged and turned her attention back to the food. She had inhaled a sandwich during her short lunch break that had barely filled her and she could feel her stomach protesting. 

She didn’t say anything as the others sat and started digging into the food. It wasn’t until she had cleared half her plate that she looked around the group, a deep sense of happiness coming over her all of sudden. 

She realized that she liked having the table filled. A smile came over her face as she listened to the guys talk and joke around a bit before clearing her throat.

“So… how was your day…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies! I meant to post this a couple days ago, but I’ve been called back into the office, so adjusting to that. And I had to work on Saturday. Things are still a bit crazy here in Seoul.
> 
> But I’m currently working on Chapter 14 and edited up through Chapter 12, so should be able to keep posting more regularly now.


	4. Dirty Little Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demetri is keeping secrets. And there are more dead students.

**Dirty Little Secrets**

Cecily stood still among the trees, her eyes trained on the back of the house. For the last hour, neither she nor Demetri had said anything as they watched the vampire couple. 

In fact, they had barely spoken all day - ever since they were at the crime scene that morning. Cecily didn’t need some sort of mystical mate connection to know that Demetri was keeping things to himself. She had long grown used to his various tells that even he probably didn’t realize he was giving. It might work on others, but definitely not her.

She had been giving him time to come out with it on his own, assuming he had his reasons for keeping it to himself, but it was starting to grate on her nerves. Especially when it was obvious that UW students were going missing and dying.

She glanced over at him and then back at the house, clearly seeing the couple inside watching something on television. Even she knew that whoever had slaughtered the couple the night before wasn’t them. What she didn’t know was why Demetri was clearly bothered by whoever it was they had scented.

“Fine. I’m done waiting. Are you going to tell me what’s on your mind?” she asked, turning to him. Over three years together and she thought she knew most everything about him. Everything important, at least - he did have a lot more history to go through than she did. But apparently not. 

Demetri said nothing, just continued staring forward. The only tell-tale sign that he heard her was the slight clenching of his jaw. 

“It’s obvious that this couple - whoever they are - aren’t the ones responsible for last night’s deaths,” she continued. “You know who it is, don’t you?”

“Why won’t you marry me?” he asked suddenly. Cecily frowned, taking a step back from him. How dare he try to change the subject on her right now.

“Answer my question first,” she demanded, her voice barely above a hiss. Demetri turned to look at her, his now topaz eyes unreadable. 

“Are you still afraid to fully trust me?” he asked.

“I’ve come around to this whole mate thing. And I wasn’t, but now I wonder if I should be,” Cecily retorted. “You’re keeping something from me.” Demetri turned back to looking at the house. A wistful look came over his face.

“In all my long years of existence, never once had I ever wished for something like that,” he said. Cecily looked back into the house, seeing the couple now snuggled up together on the sofa. “And now, that’s all I want. With you.”

“You have that with me,” she said, entertaining this conversation for the time being. “Though you’re in serious danger of losing it, if you keep this up.” The two stood silently for a few moments before Cecily stepped closer and put her hand on his arm. “What’s going on with you?” 

“You know that I’ve lived through many lives before I knew you,” he said, still watching the couple. “I’ve done many things… things that I am not proud of. Things that I hoped you would never have to find out about.”

“Demetri… we’ve been through this. I know that you’re not like that,” Cecily said, frowning. “And I still love you all the same - knowing what you used to be.” He glanced at her, a wry smile coming over his face. “Seriously. Now, can you please just… talk to me about whatever is bothering you.” 

He didn’t move at all, his eyes still fixed ahead.

“I often forget... though we have forever - we don’t really have forever, do we? It’s not guaranteed,” he said. Cecily felt a chill going through her undead body. What was he talking about? They were immortal. Of course, they had forever. Unless he was worried about the Volturi. But why would he be worried about them right now? The last time Aro had even given him an assignment was a good six months ago. In fact, the correspondences were coming less and less.

Cecily was starting to think that they just might eventually let them go on with their life together and not eventually call them back to Volterra permanently.

“Demetri, you’re starting to scare me,” Cecily said. “What does this have to do with what’s going on? Is it the Volturi? Have they come to Seattle?”

“No,” Demetri said simply. “But they will. Likely. If we don’t handle things quickly and with discretion.” Cecily looked back into the house and frowned. Demetri was making absolutely no sense right now. And while she was still frustrated with him, she couldn’t help the sense of dread that had come over her. She then looked back at him, the idea entering her mind.

She could make him tell her if she wanted. Her gift worked on vampires. But something about doing that felt wrong. She reached out and grabbed his hand.

“Demetri… just tell me what’s going on,” she breathed. “Don’t force me to do it - you know I will.”

He still didn’t speak, but from the look on his face, it was as though he had gone somewhere else. Somewhere back in time. He swallowed and then shook his head, looking down at the ground.

“Who was it that killed those humans?” she asked. “You know who it was.”

“I do,” he said, still staring at the ground. 

“Who is it?” she asked. He shook his head, his jaw clenched. He was obviously fighting with something. Cecily had far more patience now, but even this was wearing her thin. “Tell me, Demetri.” 

“I fear you may loathe me,” he said quietly.

“But if it will help us,” she hissed. He still refused to look at her. Cecily groaned softly and then stepped away from him. She looked around the woods and then back at him. She was getting nowhere, and it was obvious that nothing was going on in the house. 

“Fine. If you aren’t going to say anything, I’m leaving,” she said. Demetri looked over at her, a pained expression on his face.

“Where are you going?” he asked. 

“Dunno. Somewhere not here,” she said before taking off. Demetri sighed and continued watching the couple. 

“Great. Nice one, Demetri,” he muttered to himself.

~~~

Mara sat on the sofa, a glass of wine in hand, looking around at the group. Embry was sitting next to her while Jacob paced in front of the TV, silent. 

“I’m telling you, we should just go over there,” Paul shouted. “Confront them!”

“We don’t even know why they’re here,” Quil said reasonably. “It could be that they just want to settle down like the Cullens.” Paul looked over at Alice and Jasper. 

“Why are you looking at us?” Alice asked. “We haven’t spoken to them. We were out looking at the crime scene.”

“Did you find anything?” Mara asked. 

“Just that it wasn’t a human that killed them,” Alice said. “Definitely vampire. But no one that we’ve met before.” She looked at Jasper, who hadn’t said much the entire time. Mara was starting to think he was the strong and silent type. Or just didn’t like talking. 

“It wasn’t the couple across the street,” Jasper said. “Their scents were nowhere in the area. We checked the entire campus just to be safe.” 

Everyone went silent at that point.

“You mean… there are other vampires in the city?” Mara asked. Jasper looked over at her as her fear spiked. “Shit…” 

Flashes of that night went through Mara’s mind. Marcus smiling at her and then coming for her. His teeth flashing in the lightning. His red eyes. She began shivering as she squeezed her eyes shut, her grip tightening around the glass subconsciously. Embry sensed her fear, reaching over to place his hand on her leg comfortingly. 

The flashbacks didn’t come that often, thankfully, but it still happened sometimes. And right now was not a very good time.

But just as suddenly as it had appeared, a sense of calm washed through her. Mara gasped slightly as her eyes flew open, not understanding what was going on. She could still see Marcus coming for her, but it wasn’t accompanied by the usual panic.

“Jasper can control emotions,” Alice said, getting her attention. Mara looked at her and then over at Jasper, who offered her a small, comforting smile. 

“You seemed distressed,” he said softly.

“Thanks,” Mara said. She took a deep breath and looked around the group. Now that she wasn’t on the verge of a panic attack, she could focus. “Okay. So, let’s just go over what we know… it wasn’t the neighbors that killed the students last night. Meaning there are other vampires in Seattle. But we _still_ don’t know what’s going on with the neighbors.”

“We smelled at least three,” Jasper said softly, his stern look returning. “But… we couldn’t track them.”

“What? How?” Paul asked. “Maybe we should go. If we get the scent-”

“I’ve never experienced anything like it before,” Jasper said, cutting him off. “It wasn’t a matter of following a scent. Anytime we attempted to follow it, we ended up going in circles.” The wolves stared at him as though he was speaking gibberish. 

“We should have Demetri track whoever it is,” Quil said. “Isn’t that his thing?”

“We’re wasting time. We should just go across the street and find out what they know,” Paul said. Jacob sighed and shook his head, rubbing his forehead. He was already getting annoyed, Mara could tell. 

“For what it’s worth - I think that it might be related to some UW students that have gone missing,” she said loudly, speaking over everyone else. Everyone gaped at her.

“Why didn’t you say anything about that before?” Jacob asked.

“Because I didn’t put it together until today,” she retorted. “But I brought home everything I could find on them. Had another reporter working on, but if we get any more dead or missing students, I have a feeling Richard’s going to connect them and have us all working on the stories.”

“How long ago?” Jasper asked. Mara thought for a moment.

“Two went missing about four days ago. And another went missing the day after them. Why?” she asked. A look passed between Alice and Jasper while the wolves just looked angry.

“Someone’s fucking turning people,” Paul said. “Just like last time.”

Mara sat back on the sofa, taking a drink as everyone started talking at once, figuring she wasn’t about to get another word in for a bit of time. She looked over at Embry, who’s eyebrows had gone up. He looked over at her as well. 

“Well… I suppose this is why we don’t often work with vampires,” he said softly. Mara nodded slowly. She then jumped slightly, feeling her phone buzz in her pocket. She reached down and pulled it out, seeing Richard’s name flashing. Frowning, she pushed up from the sofa and made her way to the study, shutting the door behind her.

Embry watched her go, wondering what her editor would want at this time of night. He couldn’t help but worry that it was something that would have her running off somewhere. He sighed and looked down at his hands. This was turning into a mess. And he wasn’t even sure what to do. 

He actually kind of wished that Demetri and Cecily were there. Hopefully they had finally learned something worthwhile about the Walkers. At the very least if they were a threat of some sort. It would be one less thing to worry about.

He heard the door open and looked up, seeing an ashen Mara walk out. She locked eyes with him and gulped before looking out at the group.

“Guys,” she said, though no one stopped talking. Paul was now getting in Quil’s face as Alice attempted to placate the two men. Jacob was glaring at them. Jasper had turned to look at Mara. “GUYS!” 

Everyone fell silent and looked over at her.

“That was my boss. There’s been another suspicious death,” she said. “Well, deaths. I have to go to the scene.”

“How many?” Jasper asked, immediately at her side. 

“Four,” she said. 

“Absolutely not. You can’t go,” Embry said, standing. Mara frowned at him.

“I have to. It’s my job,” she said automatically.

“Then you aren’t going alone,” he replied. “I’m going with you.” Mara sighed. 

“We’re going too,” Jacob said. Mara turned to glare at him.

“I’m not taking all of you,” she said. “Just Embry.” She then walked over and started pulling on her coat. She stopped and looked at Embry. “Come on!” 

He walked over and grabbed his coat, following her. 

“Let’s go.”

~~~

Embry glanced around at the flashing lights and then down at Mara. She was busy looking around at the various police personnel, searching for someone she knew. Was this what it was like doing her job?

“Detective!” she shouted. A man in a heavy parka stopped and looked over at her, then rolled his eyes before trudging up to the police tape.

“Twice in one day. Lucky me,” he said dryly. Mara frowned at him.

“Looks like you have yourself a spree killer,” she replied, her face stern. The man looked down at her and then over at Embry, his eyebrows raised.

“Bring your bodyguard?” he asked, sizing him up. Embry frowned at him, immediately disliking the man, whoever he was. 

“Not important,” she said quickly. “Are these related to the killings from last night?” The man snorted.

“No comment, Winslow,” he said, starting to walk away.

“Anders!” she shouted. “I came all the way out here in the cold. Give me something.” 

“We’re all out here in the cold,” he said, already turning away. 

“Can you confirm it’s four bodies?” she asked. He stopped and glared at her. “Scanner, dude. Just how did you become a detective anyway?” He huffed and walked back up to her, now glaring. 

“Get this straight, Winslow. You know what I want you to know. When I want you to know it,” he said, his voice low and menacing. Immediately, Embry was pushing him back, his entire body tense.

“Stay away from her,” he growled as his protective instincts took over. For a moment, Anders looked truly frightened as he looked up at the much larger, much more built Embry, who was beginning to shake slightly in effort to keep himself in check.

“Embry, I’m fine,” Mara said sternly, but he only continued to glare at the detective. 

“Whatever. You’ll know when I tell you,” Anders said, turning and stalking off. Mara huffed and turned to glare at Embry, planting her hands on her hips. 

“I had things under control,” she said.

“He threatened you,” Embry said.

“He’s a fucking cop. He wasn’t going to do anything. He’s just an ass,” she shot back. “And now he’ll never give me anything.” She huffed and looked around. They were on a different street, though it was another popular nightlife spot near the university. 

It seemed that for some reason, these vampires were fixated on the University of Washington.

Small clusters of people were starting to mill around outside bars and restaurants, all of them looking towards the alley where the police were set up. 

“Someone had to have heard something,” she said, starting to walk away from the tape.

“Where are you going?” Embry asked. Mara stopped and turned to face him, huffing slightly. 

“To do my job. Are you going to stand there and gawk or come with me?” she asked impatiently. Embry sighed and began following her, wondering how long this was going to take.

~~~

Embry sighed a couple hours later, wondering just how Mara could stand walking around in the cold for as long as they have been. Even he was starting to get a bit chilled and most definitely tired of trudging around, trying to convince people to talk. He had ended up standing off on a corner, watching as Mara flinted around from group to group after he had scared off the first few.

Finally, she finally walked over to him, flipping through her notebook and going through her notes.

“Get enough?’ he asked.

“I think so,” she said, not looking up at him. She then sighed and looked around, then frowned. “What are they doing here?” 

Embry looked over, seeing Demetri and Cecily walking up to them. From the look on Cecily’s face, something was going on with the couple, though the tracker looked distracted. He continued to look towards the police tape, a pensive look on his face.

“Anything you can tell me?” Mara asked, crossing her arms. 

“Same scent as before,” Cecily said. “But there were more.”

“More?” Embry asked, his heart stopping for a moment. More vampires. This was just great.

“It’s not the couple,” Demetri said, finally looking at them. 

“Alice and Jasper said as much earlier,” Mara said. “Also said they struggled to track whoever this is.”

“I suspect they would,” Demetri said with a sigh. Cecily glared at him, though Embry and Mara stared at him in shock. 

“Wait, so you know something about the vampire doing this?” Embry growled. “Why didn’t you say something earlier?” Cecily was fully glaring at Demetri now.

“Yes, Demetri. Just what is it that you’re keeping to yourself,” she said, her voice dripping in acid. He frowned as he looked to the ground. Mara looked over at Embry, her eyes wide. He just shrugged. But whatever was going on with the two was the least of his concerns. 

He needed to know what was going on with the vampires. 

“Who is it?” he asked urgently. Demetri sighed.

“Probably best to tell everyone all together,” he said. “Let’s get back.” He then started walking off. “We’ll meet you there.”

Mara and Embry looked at each other. 

“Let’s go,” she said with a sigh.

~~~

The car ride back to the house was relatively quiet with the two of them caught up in their thoughts. Mara glanced over at Embry and then back at the road, worry starting to overcome her.

Worry about the vampires. Worry about her story. Worry about what the hell was going on. Students were going missing or turning up dead. That wasn’t good at all. She figured it wouldn’t take long before the entire campus was on lockdown.

“I’m sorry about snapping at you earlier,” she said, finally breaking the silence. “I just… Anders gets me on edge. And this story… the… everything…”

Embry didn’t say anything, just reached over and put his hand on hers. She felt the warmth spread from him to her, calming her. It felt like they had been together for years, but there were times when Mara realized just how new everything was. 

Just a few months ago she didn’t even know what Embry existed. Had never been to Forks. Didn’t know what shapeshifters and vampires were real. She had only thought about her career and proving herself to her editor. Getting more stories. Better stories.

And then four months ago, everything changed. 

And even though she felt Embry knew her better than anyone - that she knew him better than anyone - there still was a rather lot for her to learn about him. Seeing Cecily and Demetri tonight had reminded her of that. The two had been mates for nearly four years now and it seemed that the tracker still had a fair amount of secrets that he was keeping.

She and Embry had promised to keep no secrets from each other when they first got together. And so far, she thought that they had stuck to it. But she couldn’t help but wonder as she glanced over at him if there were things that he hadn’t told her. That he didn’t want to tell her. 

“What do you think is going on with Demetri and Cecily?” he asked. Mara smiled slightly, sensing he was likely worrying about the same thing she was.

“Probably whatever it is that he’s been keeping from everyone,” Mara said with a sigh. “Whatever he’s been keeping from her.” Embry nodded and kept staring out the windshield.

“I don’t have any deep dark secrets that I’m ashamed of… just so you know,” he said, looking over at her. Mara smiled and squeezed his hand.

“I wasn’t worried about that,” she said quickly.

“I could tell that you were,” he replied. Mara chuckled. 

“We said no more secrets,” she said. “I kept my side of it and figured out you had as well. I trust you.” He just smiled and lifted her hand to her lips.

“I know that this isn’t exactly how we planned for our first week together to go,” he said with a sigh. “But… it won’t always be like this.” Mara just laughed as she glanced at him, her eyebrows raised.

“You sure about that?” she asked. 

“I’ll do what I can to make sure that it isn’t always like this,” he amended. “I mean, part of moving here was to get away from all of… that…”

“I know,” she said. “I knew what I was getting into.”

“Are you sure? Vampires and all?” he asked, smirking. Mara laughed slightly.

“Vampires and all. I’m a quick learner,” she said as she pulled into the driveway. The house was still completely lit up, telling her that everyone was likely still up and eager for news.

“Thank god for that,” Embry replied. “Every day I still can’t help but wonder how I got so lucky to imprint on you.” Mara felt herself blushing as she put the car into park and then turned it off. She turned to him, smiling softly.

“And I thought I was the lucky one,” she said before leaning in and kissing him gently. As she pulled away, he couldn’t help but grab her neck and pulled her back to him, kissing her more deeply. Mara sighed, deciding to take the moment when she could. With a full house, it wasn’t as though they got much time together alone.

Mara leaned her forehead against his, sighing happily. 

“We should get inside. They probably know that we’re back,” she said softly. 

“Can’t we stay just a bit longer,” Embry murmured, gently kissing her nose and then her forehead, feathering her face with light kisses.

“Someone might come out and check on us. ‘Sides, I’m getting cold,” she replied, closing her eyes. 

“I’ll keep you warm,” he said, finding her lips. For a moment, Mara considered crawling into the back seat of the SUV and just staying there for the night. But she knew that was ridiculous. They needed to go inside and hear whatever it was Demetri had to say to them.

“Come on,” she said, reluctantly pulling away from him. He sighed and nodded, getting out of the car. 

Mara reached over and grabbed his hand, smiling at him as they walked into the house. He leaned over and kissed her one last time before they turned the corner and he stopped, causing Mara to jerk to a stop as well as she took in the frown that immediately filled his face. 

She looked over, curious as to why he was upset. Her eyes widened as she saw the group in the living room. 

“Hello, Mara,” Lila said, smiling at her. 

“Fuck…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got my editing done and hoping to get some writing done tonight before bed. But can still keep up with posting!


	5. Hey There, Nice to Meet Ya

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mara finally gets to "really" meet her new neighbors while Demetri leave cryptic clues.

**Hey There, Nice to Meet Ya**

Mara’s mouth opened and closed a few times, but no words came out. She was beyond shocked to see the couple in her living room, surrounded by glaring wolves and concerned vampires. Though Demetri stood off from the group in the kitchen, tensely watching the situation.

Apparently whatever dispute was going on with him and Cecily hadn’t been resolved during the trek back to the house. Granted, it wasn’t like it took them long with their vampire super speed, Mara thought.

“I suppose I should have gathered that you knew what we were,” Lila said, standing slowly as though she was trying to help defuse a bit of the tension by showing she was no threat. They had ditched the contacts, revealing bright topaz eyes. “But… first of all, we’re no threat. We really did just move here to start fresh. Live peacefully. We have nothing to do with what’s been going on.”

“Okay,” Mara said, unsure about what to say. She turned and quickly pulled off her coat then walked into the living room. She ran her hands up and down the front of her jeans as she smiled uncomfortably. “Right… so… this is… everyone,” she said weakly. 

Lila looked around the group, offering another smile, though she studied the wolves a bit longer. She then turned back to Mara as Embry stepped up to her side, his arms crossed in front of him.

“I’ve never seen werewolves before,” Lila said, a bit in awe as she studied Embry.

“Shapeshifters,” Embry and Mara said at the same time. 

“Sorry,” Lila said. “Shapeshifters. Heard there might be some in this area.”

“Why did you come here?” Embry asked sternly.

“I just told you,” Lila said, the smile fading from her face. “We really did move here to live peacefully. We don’t kill humans, as you can see.” She motioned to her face. “I… neither of us really like the idea of killing people to survive.” She looked over at Bruce who stood and made his way to her side, looking down at her in concern.

“We choose Seattle because of the weather,” Bruce said. “Heard there were others like us around here. We were hoping to find them.”

“We’ve relocated,” Alice said. The couple turned to look over at her. “But we still look over this place. Well, not really Seattle, but sometimes. If something happens down here that needs our attention.”

“And we didn’t know about… well… you, until we came over with the gift basket. I really did make them for the entire neighborhood,” Lila continued quickly, looking back at Mara and Embry. “It made us a bit cautious… when we smelled the shapeshifters.” 

“We had been keeping an eye on you. Especially when the rest showed up,” Bruce said. “Though… guess you’ve been doing the same.”

Mara studied the couple a moment, sensing that they were telling the truth. And the look on both their faces told her that they were still cautious of the wolves. She then relaxed a bit and looked up at Embry, smiling slightly. 

“It looks like this could have been solved by just talking to each other,” she said, raising an eyebrow at Embry. He huffed slightly, still not completely convinced. 

“Really. We’re not a threat,” Lila quickly added. “So long as you don’t threaten us.”

“We won’t,” Mara said. 

“Mara,” Embry growled as Jacob rolled his eyes. Paul looked angry, though Quil seemed confused. Jasper and Cecily had no emotion whatsoever in their faces, though Alice was smiling brightly in only the way she could, as Mara was quickly learning. Demetri was still in the kitchen, brooding. Mara was beginning to think that was his natural state when he wasn’t flirting with Cecily at this point.

“Come on, Embry,” Mara said, looking up at him. “They said that they weren’t going to hurt us as long as we don’t hurt them!”

“But how do we know we can trust them?” he asked. “Look, you don’t have as much experience with vampires as we do-”

“They don’t have the freaky red eyes,” Mara said, pointing at the couple. “And we know that they aren’t the ones out there killing people!”

“Oh, god. So the deaths… they are vampire-related,” Lila said. Mara and Embry looked over at her and Bruce, worry now filling their faces. “I thought as much when I saw them on the news.” Mara sighed.

“We were just at a crime scene. Four more deaths,” she said. 

“Whoever it is, they’re recruiting,” Cecily added. “Definitely more than one had been there. And well, if it was someone older, they wouldn’t need to feed so much.” Alice walked over and took Jasper’s hand.

“Another newborn army,” she said softly. “We were worried that was the case.”

“Another?” Mara said, her eyes wide. “There was one before?”

“It’s a long story,” Jasper said. “But we need to come up with a plan if that is what’s truly going on.”

“But why? We moved out,” Cecily said. “Why would someone want to create an army or coven of vampires in Seattle now? You don’t think someone could be trying to move in now that we’re in Vancouver, do you?” She looked over at Demetri, who was still quiet. “Anything you care to share, Demetri?”

Even Mara winced at the venom in Cecily’s voice. She looked up at Embry, the two sharing a look that clearly said something was going on there between the mates. It was obvious before, but still a bit shocking to see the two at odds.

It was a bit sickening how much Demetri usually doted on Cecily. Though the tough former reporter had always put up with it.

“Not at the moment, no,” he said. Cecily huffed and ran her fingers through her hair.

“Fine, what are we going to do?” she asked, looking around the group.

“We might need to call in more from the packs,” Paul said, deferring to Jacob, who was frowning.

“I’m not sure how well that will work here. They’ve mostly been attacking in the city. We can’t just go running around in a city,” he said. “If we can, we should cut it off before it gets too big, or figure out a way to lead them out of Seattle. The last thing we need are news reports on giant wolves.” The pack all looked over at Mara.

“I’m not going to say anything. You know that,” she said automatically.

“We know, just… might need you to try and run interference with your paper,” Jacob said. “If it comes to that.”

“Already been doing that,” she muttered under her breath, though Embry and the vampires clearly heard her. “Look… you guys… figure this out. I need to go file a report.” She then turned and started towards the study, though Embry reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her into his arms.

“I’ll get you some tea,” he said, kissing the top of her head. 

“Wine would be better,” she said, her voice muffle as she buried her face in his chest. She really didn’t want to have to go work in the middle of an obvious supernatural crisis, but it wasn’t like she could tell Richard that. He would want something soon and had already felt her phone buzz several times since they got home.

He was probably eager for an update. 

“Tea,” he said firmly, looking down at her. “It’s late and you still have to get up and go to work tomorrow.” Mara sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Fine,” she said before walking away, already pulling her phone out of her pocket and dialing.

Embry then turned and walked to the kitchen, moving around Demetri, who had turned into a statue, obviously deep in thought. He had just got the kettle on to boil when suddenly Demetri was at his side, nearly scaring him.

“Shit, Demetri,” Embry said softly, frowning at him.

“We must stop this quickly,” the tracker said urgently.

“Yea, no shit, Sherlock,” Embry replied, opening up the cabinet and reaching for a box of tea bags. That was obvious and the vampire didn’t need to tell him twice.

“I don’t think you understand just how important it is,” Demetri said, his voice soft as he glanced into the living room where the others were loudly discussing different plans and scenarios. “We must stop this before the Volturi come.” 

Embry stopped what he was doing and turned to face the tracker, unsure just why he was telling him this when he should be sharing it with the group. While the thought was at the back of everyone’s minds, including Embry’s, he hadn’t really allowed himself to think about it much until that moment.

But again - obvious. No one wanted them poking their noses around Seattle, the pack the most. Not with Mara knowing about vampires and being human. While he was mostly confident her status within the pack would keep her safe, the Volturi could never be fully trusted.

They played by their own rules and weren’t afraid to shift them if it suited their interests.

“Yea, that’s the point, isn’t it?” Embry said. “None of us want those damn bloodsuckers back over here.” Demetri looked back at him, a solemn look on his face.

“I am not sure exactly what is at play here, but… if they come… if they find out about Mara’s gift… they will take an interest in her,” he said softly. “Regardless of whether they are aware that she knows of our kind.” 

Embry felt his blood run cold. He had never thought of that. Sure, he knew that the old vampires had a thing for collecting gifted vampires. The packs knew that they had their eye on Alice and Edward Cullen for a long time now. 

“I’ve gone through great lengths to protect Cecily from them - they do not know what she is capable of,” Demetri continued. “No one save us and our family knows. But I worry that should they come, they might find out about Mara as well. While it does not seem much now, they will be interested in how it… evolves should she be turned.”

“No one is turning Mara into a vampire,” Embry said, his voice low and a determined glint coming into his eyes as a growl rumbled through his chest. “They’ll have to go through me first. And my pack.”

“And they will likely slaughter you all just to get to her. All on the _hope_ that it _could_ be useful,” Demetri said, his voice still urgent. “I must go look into something, but please… do whatever you can to protect her and keep her gift a secret from anyone who does not already know of it.” 

Without another word, the tracker turned and left through the back door, disappearing into the night. Embry stood there a few moments, looking after him. The exchange was odd, that was sure. And there was definitely something going on that Demetri wasn’t sharing with everyone, which irritated Embry. But more than that, he was stuck on what the tracker had said about Mara. 

First of all, how did he know? Mara didn’t usually tell anyone. The pack knew, but only because they had seen it in his head. And secondly, would the Volturi seriously find it useful? She could only sense murder somewhere - not communicate with the dead or even see what had happened. Even she said it wasn’t incredibly useful for her work as it didn’t give her a lot to work with.

But then again, Embry didn’t fully understand the intricacies of vampires and how some were gifted while others weren’t. Or how her gift would evolve, as Demetri put it, should she be turned. Perhaps it was time that they looked into just what she could do.

“What was that about?” Cecily asked, suddenly at his side. Embry jumped and turned to her, finding her staring at the door where Demetri had just left.

“He said that he was going to look into something,” Embry said. Cecily looked at him.

“There was more,” she stated. “Tell me what else he said.” An odd feeling came over Embry as his eyes widened and he found he couldn’t look away from Cecily’s bright eyes.

“He said to keep Mara safe… and that we should end this before the Volturi get involved. They might be interested in her,” he replied, finding himself unable to fight his candor. Cecily broke eye contact, shaking her head slightly. Immediately, Embry felt normal again.

“Sorry… I didn’t mean to do that,” she said. “Why would the Volturi be interested in her-” She stopped speaking as she looked back up at him. “Her thing at crime scenes?”

“How do you know about that?” he asked.

“She let it slip this morning,” Cecily said, her brow furrowed. “I suppose I can see why Aro _might_ be interested in that, but… doesn’t seem like something that would be helpful to him. Well… actually I guess can see that too.” 

Embry was sure that the color had drained from his face from the sudden shift in Cecily’s expression. She smiled at him hopefully.

“Don’t worry. We’ll take care of this before it comes to that,” she said quickly. “And no one else will find out about her.” Embry nodded and looked towards the shut door of the office. “We’ll keep her safe. And human.” 

“Good,” he said. 

About that time, the kettle started whistling, reminding him of the task he had been doing.

“I should get this to her…”

~~~

Everyone else was still in the living room discussing plans when Mara had shuffled out after spending half an hour on the phone with Richard, then another half an hour writing and filing her report. She stopped and looked at them, thinking she should join, if anything to get updated on whatever plans they had come up with. But she was bone-tired and would only get a few hours of sleep as it was.

So instead, she walked to the stairs and trudged up, intending to go to bed. They could tell her what was going on in the morning. Preferably after she had a large cup of coffee.

Silently, she pulled off her clothes and got into a hoodie and pair of fleece pajama pants, then crawled into bed. Though she had a down comforter, she still felt cold and softly cursed winter as she got settled in. She had just started drifting off when she felt the bed shift and warmth envelop her as Embry crawled in and wrapped his arms around her.

“Much better,” she murmured, her eyes still closed.

“Mara,” Embry said, his breath hot on her cheek as he pulled her closer.

“Not tonight… too tired… guests,” she murmured. Embry chuckled softly.

“I wasn’t thinking about that… well, not until you mentioned it,” he replied. “I wanted to ask you… what do you know about the thing you do at crime scenes.” Mara opened her eyes, now far more awake than she wanted to be.

“I told you everything I know about it,” she said.

“You’ve never tried to… do more?” he then asked. Mara rolled over, looking at him.

“No. Never thought there was more that I could do,” she said softly. “Why the sudden interest?” He just shrugged.

“Curious is all,” he replied. “Did anyone else in your family have it?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s not like I told anyone about it. They would think I’m crazy, but… well…”

“What?” Embry asked.

“I always wondered if my dad had it… he often would figure things out before everyone else did about murders,” she said. She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. “But it’s not like I can just ask him.”

“Right,” Embry said. “Do you think anyone in his family might know?” Mara looked over at him.

“Everyone in his immediate family is dead or gone off somewhere,” she said. “But… I think he’s still got some family in Port Gamble. Cousins or something. I haven’t been up there. Not since I was a little kid.”

“Maybe we should go up there and try asking someone about it,” he said.

“Why this now?” she asked, frowning at him. Embry reached out and caressed her cheek. She could tell that he was carefully deciding what to say next. “Do not keep secrets from me. Just tell me, Embry. One couple fighting in the house is enough.” 

“Demetri is worried the Volturi could take an interest in it. In you. If they come here,” he said. Mara’s eyes widened slightly. “They’ve been known to turn humans that they find gifted. He warned me that no one should find out about it and that we should end whatever this is before they come here and chance running into you.” Mara looked back up at the ceiling.

“As if we needed one more thing to worry about… fuck, I’m pretty sure I don’t want to be a vampire, to be honest,” she muttered. She then sighed. “I don’t know about family, but… my mom still has my dad’s things. Maybe I can go over and… go through his files. Maybe find a journal or something.” She looked over at him. “I should go visit anyway - keep her from showing up here unannounced.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Embry said. “And don’t worry - I’ll keep you safe.”

“You against a coven of ancient vampires?” she asked wryly, lifting an eyebrow at him.

“Hey, I’m pretty strong,” he said, pulling her closer to him and tightening his arms around her as if to prove a point. Mara chuckled as she nuzzled against him.

“I know. My own personal bodyguard,” she said before kissing him. “And space heater.” Embry chuckled.

“We’ll take care of this and then we can go back to normal,” he vowed. “Just… boring work and school. Day in, day out.” 

“You know, I kind of miss boring,” Mara said. “And having the house to ourselves. Think we could get away with getting a hotel room for a couple nights?”

“I seriously doubt Jacob would let us get away for that long,” Embry said. “Unless it became necessary.” Mara sighed as she snuggled closer.

“A girl can dream,” she said lightly, her eyes closing. “Now, I do need to get some sleep.”

“I know. Rest well, Mara. I won’t let anything get you in the night,” he said.

“I know…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. I’m sorry. It’s been awhile. But I got distracted by another story. That one is finished, so hoping to work on this one more and hopefully get it finished, though I’m a bit stuck on some details towards the end, so we’ll see how it goes.
> 
> I’m back to working from home for the next two weeks, so I’ll have a bit more freetime to write on this. Silver lining during coronavirus, yea?


	6. Welcome to Limbo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation isn't lending any clues, which makes part of Mara's job easier. At least the part where she's supposed to throw off the detectives. But Demetri isn't back and no one can seem to track the new vampires in town.

**Welcome to Limbo**

Mara collapsed at her desk the next morning, still rather tired but happy to be away from the chaos that was now her home. Despite staying up well into the night, the rest of the wolves were already up when she managed to make her way to the kitchen that morning. Still discussing what to do with the vampires. She half-listened as she attempted to stick to her usual morning routine, but then gave up and headed out after kissing Embry good-bye.

Whatever was going on, she really hoped they got things under control soon so she could have her life and house back. And stop worrying about more vampires showing up. A fucking newborn army in Seattle? The idea of it was insane.

But then again, it wasn’t the first time. Mara clearly remembered the last time the city had a spat of strange deaths and disappearances several years ago when she was in high school. Her mother wouldn’t let her out of the house for weeks. Only now did Mara fully understand just how serious the situation had been. She was honestly surprised that no one else at the newspaper or any other media outlet had connected what happened then with what was happening now. Granted, she wasn’t about to mention it.

She was supposed to be intervening and deflecting on that front.

“Mara, any updates for me?” Richard said, walking out of his office to her desk. She caught Simmons’ cold glare as she spun around in her chair to face him.

“Just got in, but haven’t gotten anything from the police yet,” she said quickly as she sat up in her chair.

“What I figured. Why don’t you head over to the station and see if they’ll give you something in person,” he said. Mara sighed, but nodded, turning back to her desk to gather up all her things that she had just put down. “Good work last night, by the way.”

“Thanks, boss,” Mara said, already standing and pulling her coat back on. 

“And good idea taking that boyfriend with you. Probably should have him tag along anytime you go out at night to cover something. Whoever is murdering these people… don’t want to think about you possibly running into them,” he added.

“Don’t have to worry about that,” she muttered, already grabbing her purse and coffee.

“What was that?”

“Got it,” she said, turning to smile at Richard. He just gave her a look and went back into his office. “Here we go…”

~~~

Mara didn’t even stop to look around as she walked into the busy police station, making her way to Anders’ desk towards the back of the room. She had heard the woman behind the desk call out to her, but there were no physical barriers stopping her, so she continued walking and ignored her.

She then plopped down in the chair next to his desk, smiling brightly as he scowled at her.

“Morning, Anders,” she said.

“You’re not supposed to be back here,” he said, glancing over to see the officer who had been working the desk rushing into the bullpen with a frantic look on her face. 

“Lovely to see you as well,” Mara replied, pulling her notepad out. “What’s the news?”

“Isn’t that your job?” he shot back.

“Yea, but kinda need something from you in order to make that happen,” Mara said. “Anything new from last night?” Anders scowled at her a few moments longer before sighing and sitting back in his chair, rubbing his face.

Mara took the opportunity to look closer at him and noticed that he was still in his clothes from yesterday and his dark circles were far more prominent. Normally he was far more fastidious with his appearance and she realized that the case must be taking a toll on the detective for him to look so haggard.

“Did you get any sleep last night?” she asked softly, her concern apparent on her face.

“No,” Anders retorted. “Looks like you didn’t get much either.”

“More than you, apparently,” she said. “Maybe you should get some rest.” Anders sighed heavily.

“I can’t. Every time I try, I keep seeing all those bodies in the alley,” he admitted. Mara remained silent, completely shocked with how vulnerable the detective was being with her. “I mean… I’ve never seen anything like this before. I wasn’t on the last case like this that we had a few years back…”

Mara tensed slightly. She had been worried someone would make the connection, but now that she was hearing it, she was frantically searching for anything to throw the detective off. Though maybe she didn’t need to. She had a feeling that vampires would be the absolute last conclusion he would come to.

“So… you think it’s connected to several years ago?” Mara asked quietly, not bothering to write anything down. He glanced over at her.

“Could be. Same wounds. Same… carnage,” he said. “But so far, I’m the only one that seems to think that. No one wants to admit that there might be another serial killer running around Seattle. Besides, I think they ruled that it was some sort of gang violence.” Mara nodded slowly. 

That made sense, she thought. And technically it was a gang of sorts - a gang of vampires.

“It’s just… if this is the same person, it makes no sense. All those deaths years ago - it had to be more than one person. But the deaths a few months ago, I could see that being just one. But then, this quick escalation. Three over the span of a few weeks, then nothing for four months. And then… six people in two separate attacks within 24 hours,” he continued. “Maybe I’m crazy for thinking they’re related…”

“Maybe they aren’t,” she suggested. 

“Maybe,” he said. “But sorry… I don’t have anything for you right now.” Ah, there was the Anders Mara knew, noticing the tired edge to his voice had disappeared as he straightened up slightly.

“Okay,” Mara said, sliding her notepad back into her purse and standing. “Let me know if something comes up on this or those missing college students. And I suppose I’ll be working things from my side.” She turned and walked off without another word, leaving a slightly surprised Anders watching as she walked off. For a few different reasons.

Mara Winslow had always fought for every scrap or detail, making it clear that she didn’t like him. Never had she willingly gone with the “I don’t have anything for you” line that he was supposed to give her when she showed up. Second - what did these deaths have to do with the missing students? Unless she had found something or knew something that he didn’t. Which only made him more suspicious.

Anders blinked a few times and then motioned one of the uniforms helping with the case over to his desk.

“Hey… could you get me everything you can find on Mara Winslow for me,” he said. The uniform frowned, seeming confused.

“Why?” he asked. 

“Just do it,” Anders ordered. He looked back over towards where she had disappeared out of the squadroom. “I just… got a feeling.”

“Alright…”

~~~

Once again, Mara returned home to a full house, though she noted that Demetri was still missing from the ranks. She wondered if he had been gone since last night or if he had popped in to check with the others at some point during the day.

The wolves were already gathered at the dining table, shoveling food into their mouths, while Alice, Jasper and Cecily stood nearby.

“Back just in time,” Embry said, standing from his chair and walking over to her, pressing a kiss against her lips. “How was work?”

“More walking. More questions. Still not enough answers,” she said with a sigh as she grabbed a plate and moved to sit at the table. “Sheesh, save anything for me?” The others paused, sheepish looks coming over their faces. “Relax. I’m joking. There’s plenty.” 

She started filling her plate as Embry sat next to her and took up eating again.

“So, what’s the update?” Mara asked, looking around the group.

“Still can’t track them down,” Jacob said. “We obviously can’t go out during the day. And they-” he motioned to Cecily, Alice and Jasper, “keep losing the trail.” 

“I told you - there _is_ something strange,” Jasper said, frowning at him. “No matter what we do, we end up in circles. It’s like whoever is leading the group has some sort of ability to be untraceable.”

“Is that a thing?” Mara asked, her eyes widening as she looked at the three.

“Maybe,” Alice admitted. “It’s not the same, but we once came across a vampire who was really good at getting away.”

“Do not bring that bitch up again,” Paul grumbled.

“It could be that whoever we’re dealing with is very old and very skilled in evading capture,” Jasper added, though he glanced at Paul. “Which is the direction that I’m leaning.” He looked at Alice.

“And since I don’t really know who I’m looking for, it makes it hard to watch for decisions,” she said. “Not to mention, decisions keep changing anyway, so a lot of the visions I get are changing and contradictory.” 

Mara remained silent, taking in the information. Embry had explained Alice’s ability to see the future to her the night they all arrived, but she still couldn’t seem to fully grasp the concept. She had wanted to pull her aside and ask if she saw anything about her own future until Embry said that she couldn’t see anything involving shapeshifters, meaning any future involving him - which Mara couldn’t imagine a future that didn’t - wouldn’t show up.

“Anyone heard from Demetri?” she asked. 

“No,” Cecily grumbled, already looking out a window at the dark backyard. She was obviously still agitated with his disappearing act.

“I’m sure he’s just tracking down a different lead,” Alice said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Cecily looked over, wearing a pained expression that made Mara wonder if vampires felt something similar to the wolves whenever their mate wasn’t around.

She looked around at Quil, Paul and Jacob, for a moment distracted by how they must be feeling at the moment. Paul and Quil left their imprintees in La Push, while Jacob and Nessie had been separated far longer. The alpha was already looked a bit more haggard than the others. 

She felt Embry take her hand and squeeze it, probably guessing where her thoughts were going in that moment. She looked over at him, offering a smile, which he returned before looking around at the others. 

“Maybe after dinner, we should go out for a run,” he suggested. “We can attempt to do some tracking now that the sun’s down and might be good to get out of the house and into the woods for a bit.” 

The others perked up a bit at that and Mara felt better knowing that they would get out and diffuse some of their pent-up anxiety. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. 

“Sounds good,” Jacob said before he returned to eating. 

“Learn anything at work?” Quil asked, looking towards her. Mara sighed and put her fork down.

“The lead detective is utterly stumped,” she said. “For a bit he was wondering if these attacks were related to the last vampire army but seemed to think that was crazy. But he still thinks it’s the same person who killed those people a few months ago - which we all know was actually Marcus. Outside that, I didn’t really get much else from them. Spent most of the day researching the missing students.”

“So the police are all still completely in the dark,” Jacob stated. “Good.” Mara couldn’t help but snort at that comment.

“Sorry, just… did you expect that anyone outside of this house would even remotely come up with vampires as the cause?” she asked, smiling. Jacob’s mouth twitched slightly before he finally offered a small smile.

“No,” he said. “They probably wouldn’t.”

“He thinks there’s some deranged serial killer running around the city,” Mara continued. “Though when you think about it, he’s probably not that far off.” 

“We’re not all deranged killers,” Alice shot across the room, though she was smiling. 

“I know,” Mara replied. “I mean whatever vampire is responsible for the recent deaths and disappearances. Though… seriously hope they take a break tonight. I need more than three hours of sleep.” She looked over at Cecily. “How did you manage before you turned?”

“Lots of coffee and energy drinks,” Cecily said. Mara sighed and nodded.

“Will add energy drinks to the shopping list,” she said. “And more coffee…”

~~~

The conversation had turned to lighter topics for a time before suddenly, the wolves were getting up and tramping out to the backyard. Cecily remained at the window, watching as they all disappeared into the trees beyond the yard, Mara going with them as she held Embry’s hand. They stopped at the edge of the treeline, with Embry bending down to kiss her before he walked in with his packmates and Mara stood a bit longer, watching them.

Cecily couldn’t help as she ached a bit at the tender scene. While she was still upset with Demetri, the longer he was gone and the radio silence continued, the more she began to worry about him.

What sort of mission had he given himself? Especially one that involved leaving everyone - his mate included - in the dark. While it frustrated her that he had apparently continued to keep something from her, Cecily knew that ultimately it was done to somehow keep her safe. Which only made her worry even more. 

If he was off doing God-knew-what to protect her, it likely had something to do with the Volturi. 

“You swear you haven’t seen anything,” Cecily said for the 50th time that day as she turned to Alice.

“Nope. They have no plans to come to Seattle as of now,” Alice said, echoing the same thing she said every other time Cecily had asked. Cecily sighed and looked back out the window, watching as Mara made her way through the snow-covered yard to the house.

“Then why is he out there and not here?” she asked, her eyes scanning the forest for any sign of his approach though she knew for now, there would be none. 

“Probably thinking he can head this thing off on his own,” Alice said. “He is still technically Volturi. Best tracker in the world.”

“Inflated ego to boot,” Cecily added ruefully. 

“I’m sure he’ll be back soon,” Alice said gently as Mara made her way inside, shivering slightly.

“I should have worn a coat,” she said, making her way over to stand in front of the large fireplace. “I’ll take care of the dishes once I warm up a bit.”

“No need,” Alice called out cheerfully. In the time it took Mara to turn and look at her, she had the table cleared off and the dishes loaded into the dishwasher. 

“God, I wish I had super speed,” she said, her eyes wide. 

“It does come in handy,” Alice said, already walking into the living room with a glass of wine in her hand that she held out to Mara.

“Um… can you guys move in permanently?” she asked. Alice chuckled as she looked over at Jasper, who had cracked the first full smile Mara had seen out of him in almost the entire time he had been there. 

“We don’t really settle anywhere permanently,” Alice explained.

“Right, the whole never-age thing,” Mara said after taking a drink of wine. She then looked to the ground, her expressions changing rapidly. 

“You want to ask about it, don’t you?” Alice said. “My visions.” Mara looked up at her, eyes wide. “We’re good at reading expressions. Been around for a long time.” 

“Well, more like… gifts in general,” Mara said, moving to sit on the sofa and get more comfortable. “Like… how do you get them?”

“Well… when we become vampires, everything about us as a human is… amplified,” Alice explained. “I got premonitions as a human. Jasper was very charismatic, so now he’s able to manipulate emotions. And Cess-”

“Was good at convincing others to do things for me or tell me things,” Cecily interrupted. Mara nodded slowly, seeming to take this in. She then looked over at Cecily, who seemed to have already guessed why she was asking. “But there’s no guarantee that someone will be… gifted once turned, right Alice?”

“Yes,” Alice said. “In fact, most vampires aren’t. Not really.” 

“Just super strength, super speed and super senses?” Mara asked, smiling.

“Well, yea. There’s that,” Alice said. 

“I’m going to go check around the perimeter,” Jasper said suddenly, bending down to kiss Alice’s cheek and then suddenly disappearing. 

“He not a people person?” Mara asked. Alice chuckled.

“He’s very sweet and warm,” she said.

“Just… very introverted,” Cecily added. “And intense, I suppose.”

“Why the interest in gifts?” Alice asked, returning to the previous subject. Mara shrugged as she took a drink of her wine.

“Just curious since you all have them,” she said. “Does everyone in the Volturi have them?”

“Most,” Alice said. “Aro likes to collect gifted vampires.” 

“Surprised they haven’t come after you,” Mara said, looking at Cecily.

“They don’t know about me and we’re trying to keep it that way,” Cecily said, though at the mention of the Volturi, she was back to looking out the window. 

“How did you manage that with Demetri being part of them?” Mara asked.

“He hasn’t told them,” Cecily said. “And Aro hasn’t asked to read his thoughts anytime he’s had to go check in with them.” Mara’s eyes widened.

“No shit. He can read thoughts?” she nearly shouted.

“Our brother Edward can too, though it’s different. Aro needs to touch you to do so, but he can see everything in your mind. Edward doesn’t need to touch you, but he can only read what you happen to be thinking about at the time,” Alice said. 

“Remind me to watch what I think if I ever meet him,” Mara said dryly. Cecily turned back to the women, smirking slightly.

“Oh, I had some fun with that when I first joined the Cullens,” she said. “He kept trying to read my mind so I would recite lines from ‘50 Shades of Grey’ or think of something else equally raunchy.” Mara giggled. “Served him right for trying to read me rather than ask me outright.”

“He did ask you outright. You just took forever to open up,” Alice said. 

“Yea, well, I had my reasons,” Cecily said. Mara looked at the former reporter, seeing her in a new light. She had already seen her kindness before, but she still came off as a bit guarded. It was refreshing to see she had a playful side as well.

“Cess was definitely a tough nut to crack,” Alice said, turning back to Mara. 

“Must be a trait among journalists,” Mara said. “My dad was the same - well, with everyone else. He was very warm and open with me and my mom. But still, there was a lot he didn’t share with us.”

“Who was he?” Cecily asked, intrigued.

“Harry Carpenter,” Mara said before taking another drink. The redhead’s eyes widened.

“Shit. Your dad was _the_ Harry Carpenter?” she asked, moving closer. “Fuck, he was a legend. I wanted to be him someday.” Mara’s cheeks flushed red as she looked down at her glass. “I mean, my editor was still talking about his Pulitzer story back when I was human.” Mara just shrugged.

“He was good at what he did,” she said. 

“Better than good. The best. Now I see why you went into journalism,” Cecily said, seeming to regard Mara a bit differently. “Must have gotten his reporter genes.”

“Maybe,” Mara said. “But no one other than my editor knows he’s my dad. Didn’t really want all that added pressure on me.” 

“I can understand that, I guess,” Cecily said. 

“But since I am in the presence of another award-winning investigative reporter… mind if I pick your brain a bit?” Mara asked. Cecily grinned.

“Only if I can ask you more about your dad,” she countered.

“Deal…”


	7. Going Snipe Hunting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wolves have picked up the trail of the rogue vampires and Demetri returns, but it only leads to more questions.

**Going Snipe Hunting**

_I’ve got something!_

_Where?!_

_Over here! It’s stronger. They were here not long ago._

_Follow it!_

Embry picked up his pace, stretching out his legs as the four wolves sped up down the path, heading deeper into the mountains outside the city. What had started out as just a run to burn off some energy had quickly divulged into a day of tracking when they picked up a faint hint of a scent from the crime scenes. 

Of course, then that led to running around in literal circles all day. It was exactly like the vampires had said. While he knew that they wouldn’t lie or exaggerate, part of him thought that perhaps it wasn’t nearly as bad as they had made it out to be. But it turned out that it was.

Until now.

_Hold!_

All four of them slid to a halt, Embry letting out a whine. He wanted to keep going. To follow the scent until they came to wherever the bloodsuckers were holed up and rip them to shreds so that they would no longer threaten Mara or their life together.

_Why?!_ he demanded, turning his head to look at Jacob. _Let’s end this!_

_No! We need to call in the others. I don’t want to go in there and find ourselves outnumbered,_ Jacob ordered. 

_But they might be gone by the time we get there if we wait,_ Embry countered.

_We wait,_ Jacob ordered, starting to growl at Embry. He only growled in return, his protective instincts taking over. All he could think about was keeping Mara safe. And the best way to keep Mara safe was to kill the vampires.

_We should go now! Before we lose them!_ he practically shouted through the mind link. Paul woofed his agreement.

_We wait,_ Jacob repeated, his growl deepening and more power pouring through his words. Embry felt a heavy weight fall over him, though he continued to bare his teeth at Jacob. 

But then he dropped his head, giving in to the alpha order. Jacob huffed and then stepped back, quickly shifting back into his human form and then pulling on the pair of jeans he had strapped to his leg. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, dialing.

“Yea, it’s Jacob. We found something,” he said, glancing around at the group before continuing to talk. Embry began pacing around the clearing, looking in the direction of the scent. He was unable to stay still even though he couldn’t move anywhere out of the clearing until Jacob gave the order. 

It was the first solid lead any of them had had in days. Every time anyone got a whiff of the vampires, they spent hours going in circles. The fact that this was leading in a straight direction meant they were likely getting close. 

But the more he paced around the clearing, the more his head cleared up. He stopped and looked down the path as Jacob finished up his phone call. Jacob was right. They needed reinforcements. The fact that this vampire had been giving them the run around this whole time, if they had found a straight path it likely meant whoever it was had left the trail intentionally.

He looked over at Jacob. 

“You finally get why I wanted to wait?” he asked, his face stern. Embry nodded his head and sat. He supposed he could shift back, but he wanted to be ready to go as soon as the vampires arrived. Which if he knew them, would be any minute now even though they were pretty far out into the mountains.

He was glad that Mara was at work and far away from all of this. She was safe as long as she was at the office and not alone at the house. Hopefully she wasn’t running around the city. No one at her office knew that she was secretly investigating the missing students, though a few more had turned up over the week. 

The group fell into tense silence as they focused on listening to the forest around them. It was alive with various other animals, but still, they couldn’t hear anything that sounded remotely like vampires running through the foliage. The longer they waited, the more tense Embry and the others got. Paul was pacing back and forth while Quil walked to the edge of the clearing and then back again. 

Then, Embry heard it. He hopped to his feet, turning his head in the direction of the noise. But it wasn’t coming from the direction that he thought it would be coming from. And it sounded like only one.

Demetri came to a stop as he entered the clearing and looked around the group.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he said lightly.

“Where have you been?” Jacob retorted, already frowning. 

“Tracking down a lead,” Demetri said, looking towards the direction the scent was leading in. “Seems you’ve happened upon the same one.”

“We’re waiting on the others to get here,” Jacob said. Demetri looked at him, his eyes widening.

“You’ve told them?” he asked. 

“As soon as we found the trail. Didn’t want to go in without backup,” he replied. Demetri looked back in the direction.

“I’ll go ahead,” he said, already taking a step in that direction.

“What if you’re outnumbered?” Jacob asked. Demetri paused and shot him a smug smile.

“Don’t worry. I’m just scouting ahead,” he said just before disappearing. Embry looked at Jacob, who just shook his head.

They waited a bit longer before suddenly Alice, Jasper and Cecily appeared. 

“Which way?” Jasper asked. 

“This way,” Jacob said, pointing. “Demetri already headed in that direction.”

“Demetri’s here?” Cecily asked, her voice catching. Jacob nodded and then pulled his jeans off, reattaching them to his leg before shifting.

“Let’s move,” Jasper said, already taking off in that direction. 

The group moved swiftly, but cautiously through the forest, up the slope of the mountain. Then suddenly Jasper came to a stop, his hand up. He didn’t say anything as he moved to the top of a ridge and peered over it.

“They’re gone!” they heard a voice shout. The wolves looked at Jacob, who nodded. They all shifted and quickly dressed before following the Cullens over the ridge. They saw Demetri standing in front of the mouth of a cave. 

Cecily was immediately at his side, just staring at him. The tracker looked at her a moment before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to him. For all the bluster she had been showing the last few days, it seemed to melt away as she held on to the tracker tightly. She then stepped back away from him, slapping his face. The smack reverberated through the trees.

“Don’t ever leave me like that again,” she said. Demetri just nodded and looked back in the cave.

“They left, but not that long ago. Maybe an hour or so ago,” he said, turning to look at Jasper. “Six of them, I believe. I think they’ve been using this as a base, but for no more than a few days.”

“Probably stayed long enough for the latest batch of newborns to turn and then moved on,” Jasper said, already starting into the cave. “They probably know that we’re watching them. Otherwise they wouldn’t move.” 

Embry followed him in, his eyes adjusting to the dim light. There was some trash littered about, but it looked like it had been there for much longer than a few days. Here and there, he saw faint splotches of blood. But there were no bodies. 

The smell of vampire was overwhelming.

“Were you able to get any leads on who they are or where they went?” Jasper asked, looking over at Demetri. He shook his head.

“I’ve had trouble following them,” he said, a tense look coming over his face.

“But you’re supposed to be the best tracker in the world,” Paul said, his anger not even veiled.

Demetri didn’t respond, just walked out into the forest, looking around the trees. Cecily moved to follow him. Embry could see her lips moving, but they were speaking so softly, he couldn’t hear anything. From the looks on Jasper and Alice’s face, they couldn’t either. 

Embry sighed and looked around the cave again. It was dead end; he could feel it. He had thought they were so close to ending this and now? More questions.

“What the hell, Demetri?!”

He turned to look back out to the forest.

“I’m trying, Cecily!” 

The tracker then took off, disappearing into the trees. Cecily groaned in frustration and then walked over, punching a boulder, nearly obliterating it. She then walked away, running her fingers through her hair.

“Looks like Cess is pissed,” Paul said. “Again.” She looked over her shoulder, glaring at him. She then looked back to the trees and plopped down on the ground.

Alice then appeared at her side, bending down to speak to her.

“What do you think that’s about?”

~~~

“He’s shutting me out,” Cecily said, staring out into the forest, a frown on her face. “He won’t tell me anything. And I _know_ that he knows something.”

“We all know that,” Alice said, her usual cheerfulness and optimism nowhere in sight. “But surely he’s doing it for a good reason.” Cecily snorted.

“Or he’s still the self-centered Volturi bastard that he’s always been, and he’s just been hiding it,” she said. She couldn’t help the piercing pain that had settled in her chest. 

It had been days with no word. Days not knowing where Demetri was or what he was doing. Or if he would come back. They were mates. Didn’t that mean they did things together? Through thick and thin? Oh right, they weren’t actually married because despite everything, Cecily wasn’t ready for that step. It was too… _official_ for her.

When she heard that he was there. That he was just up the trail from her, her unbeating heart had leapt. She couldn’t wait to hold him. To see him. And then he was there, pulling her to him.

For that moment, she lost her anger and frustration. It was just the two of them again. 

But now.

“What is he doing?” Cecily said softly, her eyes glistening with tears. 

“I don’t know,” Alice replied. “But… you have to have faith, Cess. I mean, he’s been trying to find a way to get out of the Volturi. For you.” She didn’t respond, just kept staring out into the trees. “He’s your mate.”

Cecily closed her eyes, breathing deeply of the forest around her. She could still feel the connection. It was like a thread flowing out of her body and through the trees, connecting to Demetri, wherever he was. 

Her eyes then flew open as she looked out to the trees, hopping to her feet. 

In the next second, he was back. He met her eyes. 

“They’re gone,” he said.

“We know that,” Cecily replied harshly.

“I mean… they’ve completely left the area,” he said.

“I thought you couldn’t track them,” Paul shouted from the cave. Demetri’s eyes flicked over to the wolf and then back to Cecily. 

“I can continue to follow them. It will be difficult, but I think I’ve found a way,” he said. “But I don’t believe they’re in Washington anymore. They went south.”

“So _now_ you can track them,” she said dryly. He sighed and looked away, then back to Cecily.

“I will explain everything, but I need time,” he said softly. 

“Why can’t you tell me now?” she asked. A pained expression came over his face. 

“There are some things I need to figure out first,” he replied. “But I promise you - I _will_ tell you everything.”

“You’re going to follow them,” she said dully. “And I can’t go with you.” He nodded once. “Why can’t I go with you?” Demetri walked up to her, pulling her into his arms. She knew that she should be angry. Should push him away. Shout at him. Slap him again. Force him to tell her everything right now. She had a right to know, didn’t she?

But she couldn’t bring herself to do that as she wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes as she breathed in his scent deeply, unsure of how long that he would be away from her. She felt him press a kiss against her head.

“Please, trust me,” he whispered. “I will tell you everything. And I’m only doing this so that we can be together.” 

“But we’re already together,” she whispered. 

“I’m doing this to ensure our future together stays intact,” he replied. More questions began swimming around Cecily’s mind. But she knew that he wouldn’t answer them. Not now. 

Something inside her whispered that she could still trust him. That he was the same man that she had come to know over the last nearly four years. The man he had become to be with her. She knew that he had lived a long life before she was even born. That he had done many things. There were still things that he hadn’t told her. Not because he was hiding them, but because they just hadn’t gotten around to everything. Over two thousand years made for a lot of stories.

She knew that he would tell her everything. Just not right now. 

“Okay,” she said, though it was difficult saying just that one word. He stepped back from her, looking deep into her eyes. His eyes that had long looked like hers. She almost didn’t remember what they looked like before. 

Demetri pulled her to him, his lips pressing against hers. She melted into his embrace, her lips parting as his tongue darted past them. It took half a second for things to turn heated. Cecily didn’t care that they had a crowd. Or that the others were frustrated with Demetri right now. That she was still frustrated with him.

She didn’t know how long they were going to be apart.

He then pulled back, resting his forehead against hers.

“I will come back to you,” he vowed. She nodded and swallowed.

“I know,” she said. He kissed her again and then stepped back, disappearing into the trees yet again. 

Cecily stood still, watching until she couldn’t see him anymore, his scent clinging to her. 

“Come on,” Alice said, grabbing her arm. “Let’s go back.” Cecily nodded and then took off running.

~~~

Cecily could hear the others talking inside, but she couldn’t stand to be around anyone right now. She hugged herself as she stared into the trees even though the cold couldn’t touch her. She knew that he wouldn’t be back. Not tonight. But that didn’t stop her from watching for him anyway. 

There was a loud burst of laughter. She turned slightly, looking inside. She saw Mara shouting as Embry easily lifted her up over his shoulder and started to walk away. The human woman banged on his back, though there was a large grin on her face. 

Cecily looked back to the yard, her eyes shutting briefly as happier memories floated through her head.

The two of them in a secluded bungalow on a private island. Dancing under the moonlight. That day in the clearing when he told her that the Volturi had let him go indefinitely to be with her.

_“I’ll find a way, Cess… I’ll find a way so that we never have to go to them… I will leave them for you…”_

She could feel the tears rising up behind her eyes again and sighed as she opened them, though attempted to blink them back. Cecily knew that she shouldn’t dwell on this. Demetri was coming back. He _would_ come back to her. And he had his reasons. They had to be good reasons. 

“This is going to be okay, Cecily… it’ll be okay…”

~~~

“So… Demetri was serious. They’re gone?” Mara asked as she watched Embry get ready for bed. He sighed and looked over at her as he pulled on his pajama pants. 

“Yea. Said he was going to keep on their trail,” he said.

“But I thought they were impossible to track,” Mara replied, frowning. 

“Yea, well… I guess he found a way,” Embry said, walking over and getting into bed. “Damned if I know the inner workings of vampires.” He then pulled Mara into his arms. 

“She looks so lost without him,” she said softly, resting her head on his shoulder. “Are vampires like shapeshifters? When their mate or whatever is away from them… it’s painful?”

“I suppose,” Embry replied. “It’s different, but I don’t think it’s pleasant.” Mara nodded.

“I hope for her sake, he comes back soon,” she said. “Cess is good people. I don’t like seeing her so down.”

“She is… and she’s been through a lot,” Embry said. “But… he’ll come back. He may be annoying and frustrating, but… he loves her. He won’t leave her for long.” 

“I’m just glad that you’re going nowhere,” Mara said, looking up at him. Embry grinned down at her. 

“I’m most definitely not going anywhere,” he said before kissing her. “Not when I got you here.” He kissed her again. 

Mara sighed happily and settled back in his arms.

“You sure you don’t want me to go with you to your mom’s?” Embry asked. 

“It’s fine,” Mara said. “Besides… it’s something that I should do alone. Mom still gets a bit emotional about Dad.” Embry kissed the side of her head.

“Okay.”

~~~

“We’ve had word,” Caius said, walking into Aro’s private study. Aro looked up from his desk, then grinned as he rose.

“You hear that, brother,” he said, glancing over at Marcus, who was reading in the corner.

“Lovely,” he said dryly without looking up. Aro walked over and took the letter from Caius’ outstretched hand, eagerly reading over it. 

“It seems things are going to plan,” he said, looking up at Caius. “She has assured that everything is coming together as it should. Soon, we shall have our Demetri back in our fold and his lovely mate with him.”

“Do not be too confident,” Marcus warned from the corner. Aro looked over at him, his smile not faltering. “I told you that their bond is strong.”

“I do not wish to break their bond. I want them here together,” he countered.

“I thought you were willing to wait,” Marcus then said.

“I was. Still am. But you must admit, it was rather fortuitous that our… ally… came to us with a most interesting plan,” Aro replied. He looked back down at the letter. “Let us see how this will play out. If it works, then we will have them both with us far sooner than I could have hoped.” 

Marcus did not reply, just cast a measured look at Aro before returning to his book. 

“So, we wait,” Caius said.

“Yes, my dear Caius, we wait…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I have FINALLY broken through my writer’s block! I had gotten up to the last few chapters to write and I just… couldn’t. There was one little detail that I needed to figure out before I could write anything further and for the life of me, I could not figure it out. Until today.
> 
> I’ve already gotten two more chapters completed and am about halfway through the big climatic chapter towards the end. Since tomorrow is election day in South Korea – meaning I’m going to be SUPER hectic with work until early Thursday morning - I’m trying to finish as much of this story as I can today while I’m motivated so that I can post more chapters. Don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get to the end of this. ^_^
> 
> Thanks for reading and following!


	8. To Know Oneself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mara finally learns more about her family history and her gift.

**To Know Oneself**

“Mom?” Mara called out as she walked into the large home in one of the older, but nicer areas of Seattle. She stopped and looked around, feeling comfort in being back in her childhood home. Her mother wasn’t big on change and rarely redecorated. The living room - as were many rooms in the house - was full of native art from the various local tribes. 

Trudy Winslow had always been in love with history and culture, throwing herself into studying her own as well as those of other tribes around the state. She had published countless papers on the subjects during her career and now held tenure at the University of Washington. Though when she wasn’t teaching or on an excavation, she was working on some sort of side project. The latest being a book on folklore of the area.

“There you are,” Trudy said as she walked out of the kitchen and over to her daughter, pulling her in for a tight hug. 

Mara felt like she was an interesting mix of her mother and father. While she took after her father in coloring and demeanor, he was a rather tall and imposing man that made even her tall and slender mother look a bit on the short side. Her mid-length hair was a lighter shade of brown as were her eyes. But despite her penchant for pant suits in muted tones that she often wore to class, she was just as at home in a pair of hiking boots.

“Feel like I never see you nowadays,” Trudy said as she held onto Mara a bit longer.

“Sorry. Work,” Mara said.

“I saw,” Trudy said, stepping back and looking at Mara, her brown eyes full of concern as she squeezed her shoulders. “Richard got you covering those latest murders?” 

“Yea, but I’m fine. Perfectly safe,” Mara said quickly.

“Right,” Trudy said, rolling her eyes slightly as she led Mara into the kitchen where she already had tea set out at the breakfast nook. “Heard that before. Far too often.” 

“Mom,” Mara said.

“Yes, I know. It’s your job. Forgive me if I wished you would choose something a little less dangerous,” Trudy said as she sat down and patted the table in front of the chair next to her. 

“If it helps, Embry has been going out with me if I need to cover something at night,” Mara said as she pulled off her coat and sat down.

“Does put me a bit more at ease. I certainly think Embry can handle just about anything,” Trudy said, starting to pour the tea. “How’s he settling in?”

“Good,” Mara said quickly, suddenly realizing that in the craziness of everything going on, she had forgotten to tell her mother that he had moved in. She wasn’t exactly sure if now was the right time to bring that particular subject up, though. “He’s ready for class and all.”

“He already thinking about what medical schools he wants to apply to? I know he’s got some time until then, but never too early,” Trudy continued.

“He wants to stay local. So he can still go back and check in on his mother,” Mara said, taking the mug her mother offered her. “UW is at the top of his list.”

“Well, that works well for you,” Trudy said, smiling slightly as she brought her own mug to her lips. Mara flushed slightly.

“Yea, I suppose that it does,” she said before taking a sip of her tea. Trudy studied her a moment and then put her mug down.

“Okay, so out with it. As much as I love you stopping by, you usually only suggest it when there’s something you want or you have a question that you can’t ask over the phone,” Trudy said. Mara snorted slightly.

“You should have been a reporter too, Mom,” she said, putting her own mug down.

“This something about Embry?” Trudy asked. “He’s moved in with you, hasn’t he?” Mara sat up as her eyes widened and her cheeks turned a bit redder. Shit. Her mother really was good. “Come on, Mar. You mentioned months ago that you were thinking of having him stay with you until he found a place. Doesn’t take a genius to figure out that was your way of easing into telling me that he was going to be moving in on a more permanent basis.”

“Well… it makes sense. I have all that room at Grams’ house. The drive to the University isn’t that bad. He’s helping out with groceries and utilities and all. Plus it’s cheaper for him than finding his own place-”

Trudy put her hand up, stopping Mara’s rambling. She then put her hand on Mara’s and squeezed.

“It’s fine. I wasn’t going to blow up,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “I mean, do I think it’s a bit soon? Yes. But that’s just me. And well… there’s just something about the two of you together. Feels like you’ve been together far longer than you have.”

“Really?” Mara replied, a bit surprised. Her mother had always been a fairly staunch supporter of Mara’s independence, always telling her to take her time to go out and live life - figure out who she was, do things - before she thought about any kind of settling down. 

She figured she would have more than a few things to say about Mara and Embry living together after only about four months of dating. And this, well, it was certainly unexpected.

Trudy chuckled as she shook her head slowly.

“Embry is a good man, Mara. That’s honestly all I could ask for,” Trudy said. “And sometimes… when you know, you know. Your father and I certainly didn’t waste much time once we met.” Trudy looked down at the table, sadness entering her eyes. 

It had been over 10 years since they lost him, but sometimes it still felt like yesterday. And Mara knew that it was still particularly painful for her mother, still living in the house where he was murdered, unable to part from all the strong memories of him and their family that it held. She had once told Mara that they overpowered the final memory of him there. 

But at the same time, Trudy didn’t often go into his office at the back of the house where he would work from home. After it had been cleared by the police and then cleaned up, Trudy shut the doors and rarely - if ever - opened them. Which is why Mara was a bit nervous about what she was going to ask that day.

“I miss him,” Mara said without thinking. 

“I do too,” Trudy said softly. She looked up at Mara. “But you know he’d be so proud of you.” Mara smiled slightly.

“I hope,” she said. “Still a rookie on the crime desk.”

“Yes, but you’re determined. Just like he was. You’ll get to where you want to go,” Trudy said. Mara nodded. She then shifted in her chair.

“Actually… what I came here for… it wasn’t about Embry. It was about Dad,” she said, moving to pick up her mug again.

“What is it?” Trudy asked.

“Could I go through his office?” Mara asked, meeting her mother’s eyes. She figured it was better to be direct. Ask quickly. Like pulling off a bandaid. Trudy seemed a bit curious about her request.

“What for?” she asked.

“Just… I think that there might be something in there - in his files - that would help me out with a story that I’m working on,” Mara said, finding it a bit disconcerting how easy it was getting to lie to her mother now. “You said that all his stuff is still there, right?” Trudy nodded. 

“I know I probably should have cleared it out years ago. Gone through it, but everytime I try…” she stopped speaking.

“It’s okay, Mom. And… I’m glad that you’ve kept it,” Mara said. “I would sneak in there a lot, you know. Just to feel close to him again.” Trudy chuckled. 

“I did know about that. It was one of the reasons I kept everything there,” she said, smiling sadly. “But yes, I suppose if there’s something in there that you think could help, you’re welcome to it. Let me know if you need me to go through it with you.”

“Thanks, Mom. I should be good,” Mara said as she stood and stepped over, kissing her mother’s cheek. She then turned and left the kitchen, quickly making her way through the house.

She stopped in front of the door to his office, for a moment just staring down at the handle. He hardly ever kept the door shut, she remembered. And there was always music playing. Usually Billie Holiday or Etta James. For a moment, she closed her eyes, thinking back to when she was younger and he was still alive.

She then opened her eyes and reached for the handle, turning it and then pushing the door open. Light poured in from two large windows, though the room was still a bit dark, thanks to all the old wood paneling. She reached over and flipped on a light, her breath catching as she was transported back.

It was still the same as it had always been - his large desk in front of a wall of bookshelves facing the fireplace on the opposite wall. A large comfy chair where she would sit and read while he worked was there as well. The old stereo system was on a shelf in between the windows. His old computer still on the desk, though it was now clean - not cluttered with papers and notebooks. 

The smells that she always connected with her father - wood, damp moss, ink and cigar smoke - was still thick in the room.

Mara walked over and sat in the large leather chair behind his desk, running her hands over the top of the desk. While she wanted nothing more than to sit there and get lost in memories of her father, she did have a job to do. 

She looked down at the drawers of the desk and then over at the row of filing cabinets that ran along the wall next to the door. They had taken away some of his files on the story he had been working on, but most everything else was still there. Still, she wasn’t exactly sure where to start looking. Or what she was even looking for. 

For all she knew, her father didn’t share her gift.

But it wouldn’t do to dwell on that, so instead she pushed up out of the chair and walked over to the filing cabinets, starting to go through them. She became so engrossed in going through them that she quickly lost track of time, sometimes reading case files or looking at photos. Others just running her fingers over his handwritten notes and smiling as various memories went through her mind.

After a couple hours, she had barely made it through one filing cabinet and her frustration was starting to build. Deciding to take a short break, she walked over and sat down at his desk again.

Sighing, Mara looked down at the desk, closing her eyes and trying to think.

“Help me out, Dad,” she whispered. 

She drifted back to one winter night when she was about 13. She was curled up in the chair, a thick blanket wrapped around her as the fire roared. She looked up, seeing her dad smile at her as he sat behind his desk, an old leather book opened in front of him. He was writing in it.

_“What are you doing?” she asked._

_“Just writing down my thoughts,” he replied. Mara chuckled._  
  
“Dad, no one writes in diaries anymore… not like that. You should do it on the computer,” Mara had said, feeling a bit superior now that she had her own computer in her room. Her father had laughed at that.

_“It’s always good to actually write your thoughts down, Mars Bar. Take time to do it by hand. It helps you reflect more,” he said. Young Mara rolled her eyes._

_“Whatever…”_

Mara opened her eyes. She had nearly forgotten about that night. Nearly forgotten that her father had kept a journal. She looked down at the desk, frowning. The police would have taken it during their investigation, but… did they give it back?

She pulled open a drawer and rifled through it, not seeing a book. She then went through another, finding more files but no books. She finally opened up the bottom drawer on the other side. Pulling out some files, she stopped, her heart skipping a beat. 

Slowly, she put the files down on the desk and then reached for the thick, leather book from her memory and pulled it out. There were a couple more underneath it. Setting it down almost reverently on the desk, she then opened it. In her father’s familiar handwriting was his name on the first page. She then turned it, her eyes starting to fill with tears as she saw page after page filled with his handwriting. She gently placed her hand on it, more memories rushing through her mind.

She had found it.

~~~

The house was noisy when Mara walked in from the garage, which wasn’t unusual, but a bit disappointing. She had hoped to spend some time reading through her father’s journal in the hopes he might have mentioned something useful. Perhaps she could lock herself in the study.

“There you are Mara!” a voice called out brightly. Mara groaned slightly as she looked over and saw her best friend Katie perched on the sofa in between Quil and Paul, beer in hand. Jacob was sitting in one of the armchairs, an amused look on his face. “Why didn’t you tell me everyone on the reservation was in for a visit?”

“Slipped my mind,” she said as she pulled off her coat. Of course Katie would come over uninvited. Mara made a mental note to try and meet up with her more so that she didn’t this very thing at an inopportune moment. 

“Well, thank god you have the world’s best boyfriend. Let me in and all,” Katie said. Mara looked over into the kitchen, seeing Embry at work making dinner. He smiled sheepishly at her. “Just in time for food!”

“That’s good. I’m pretty hungry,” Mara said as she walked into the kitchen and kissed Embry on the cheek, then went to the fridge to get a beer.

“How was your mom?” Embry asked.

“Good. We had a good afternoon,” Mara said. Embry raised his eyebrows at her and she nodded slightly, letting him know silently that she found something. She then turned her attention to Katie. “Getting to know the guys?”

“Seriously, what is in the water at La Push and please tell me there are some single men left there,” Katie said, leaning over the back of the sofa as she grinned at Embry.

“Um… no one around our age,” he said cautiously. Katie sighed. 

“Such is my life,” she lamented before turning back around. Mara chuckled as she walked into the living room and sat down. 

“Where are the others?” she asked, noting that Cecily, Alice and Jasper weren’t around.

“Had some errands,” Jacob said before taking a drink of his beer.

“Wait, you have more people visiting?” Katie asked, her eyes wide.

“Not completely,” Mara said quickly. “Just… some other friends of ours that live in town.” Katie just shrugged. “How’s work?”

“Eh, you know how it goes. Parties, events. Book signings. Interviews. The occasional trash fire,” Katie said nonchalantly. “Been watching the news - Richard got you running all over town?”

“Yea, but it’s hit a bit of a block,” Mara said. She glanced over at Jacob, sharing a look with him. Demetri still hadn’t come back, but Alice, Jasper and Cecily were certain that no one with the group of vampires had been back in the city.

It was perplexing, to say the least. That a vampire would come to Seattle, turn a few people, eat a few others, and then hightail it out so quickly. There had been several theories going around the group, but no one seemed able to settle or agree on one. Mara just hoped this meant that they were gone for good. 

She had taken some time yesterday at the office to go through more information on the people that had come up missing. Most were students, but others weren’t. At least Anders hadn’t connected any of the disappearances to the murders from what she could tell. 

If the vampire was creating an army, they were making a rather small one, in Mara’s opinion. But it wasn’t as though she knew much about them anyway. In fact, when she really thought about it, maybe they didn’t need many for an army. Marcus had been incredibly strong all on his own.

“Yea… she does that…”

Mara looked up at the group, confused for a moment as Paul laughed loudly. 

“What?” she asked.

“Zoned out there a bit, Mar,” Katie said as she chuckled. Mara shook her head and smiled slightly.

“Sorry… busy week,” she said. 

“Sounds like someone needs to go on a date to clear her head,” Katie said, looking pointedly at Embry as he walked over to Mara. He pulled her up from the chair and then sat down in it, pulling her down onto his lap.

“As much as I’d love that, we’re both pretty busy for a bit. I do start class this week,” he said. 

“Ah, yes… responsibility,” Katie mused. She looked around the group. “What do you guys do?”

“She’s been talking non-stop since she got here,” Embry said softly in Mara’s ear, the smile clear through his voice. She chuckled.

“You know how she is,” she replied, settling in. “But… yea. I think we needed a little party to get our minds off things. Glad she stopped by.”

“Me too.”

~~~

Embry stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and walked over to the large dresser to get his pajama pants. When he heard no comment from Mara - he usually got something from her anytime he walked around without a shirt on - he turned, seeing her engrossed in some book in bed.

It had a worn leather cover with no title or author on it and must have been rather interesting, as she wore an intense expression while going through it.

“Interesting?” he asked, turning back to fish out his pajamas.

“It’s my dad’s journal,” Mara said distractedly. He stopped and looked back over, seeing that she hadn’t even looked up from it. Quickly dressing, he walked over and got into bed, looking down at the page over her shoulder. “Still hasn’t mentioned anything about if he had a gift or not… it’s from 1985...”

“You did just start reading it,” Embry said. 

“Mmhmm,” Mara said, turning a page. “Might go back and look for more… I found three, but this is the earliest...”

Sighing, Embry moved back to his side of the bed, reaching for his tablet to go over his class schedule for the upcoming week again. While the others were planning to stick around for a few more days just in case, he would have to return to normal life. Though he missed the orientation, he wasn’t looking to miss any classes his first week. 

He had just opened up the UW student portal when Mara gave a loud yelp, jumping slightly. He looked over, seeing her sitting up in the bed, her eyes lit up as she pulled the book closer to her face.

“Oh my god, this is it,” she exclaimed, her eyes still glued to the page. 

“You found something?” Embry asked, leaning towards her. She looked up at him and nodded quickly, then looked back at the journal.

“I’m still learning more about what I can and cannot do, but I do know that whatever this is, it’s been growing stronger,” she read. “So far I had only sensed it when going to fresh crime scenes, but in the name of research, I decided to see if time was an issue… I went out to an area that was rumored to be used by Ted Bundy. There was never any concrete evidence that he killed or buried anyone there, but I figured that if this works, I would find the answer to a mystery that had long haunted detectives. That is if it worked, which I wasn’t sure if it would. 

“As soon as I hiked to the area, I was struck by how beautiful and peaceful it was. I suppose if you were going to die a horrible death, there was that, at least. But even the scenery didn’t change the fact that something truly tragic and horrifying may have happened there. I walked slowly, not sure what would happen or where anything took place. I spent an hour or so, just hiking around. Stopping here and there. But nothing. I finally decided I had spent long enough trying to find something and started back to my car when it hit me. The air got heavy. I stopped for a moment and then continued in the same direction, the weight growing heavier and heavier on my chest, the stench of murder beginning to fill my nose.

“I finally reached a point when it was nearly overwhelming and I knew that I had arrived. I looked down to the ground and slowly bent down, touching the dirt and forest debris. For a long time, it had been left alone to the animals. But years ago, someone had been murdered there. 

“Closing my eyes, it happened as it had before, though not as strong. I only got glimpses. Flickers. A starlit sky above. A man’s face, barely visible in the dark, though I had stared at pictures long enough that I knew who it was. Then nothingness. It wasn’t enough to tell me what exactly had happened there - the woman could have been killed there or maybe that is just where she finally died. But I had the answers I had been searching for…”

Both Mara and Embry were silent a few moments, processing what they had just learned.

“Holy shit,” Mara finally murmured, dropping the book down into her lap, though she continued to look down at the page.

“Did he tell anyone what he found that day?” Embry asked. Mara shook her head. 

“Said that he didn’t know how to explain how he knew, so just left it. But decided to take flowers there,” she replied. She then looked over at him. “My dad… he had it too. More than me. He could _see_ what happened.”

“Maybe he says how he was able to do that,” Embry said, leaning towards the book. 

“Possibly? I mean… this is one of the first entries, so he’s obviously known about it for a while. I need to find earlier journals, I think,” she said, frowning slightly. “Like I said, I grabbed three from his office, but this was the oldest… maybe they might be in the attic… I think Mom has a few boxes of his things there…” She then stopped, her contemplative look changing to one of awe.

“I just… my dad and I have the same gift,” she said, looking to Embry as her eyes filled with tears. “I am really like him.” 

Embry chuckled as he pulled her into his arms, kissing her. 

“You always were like him. In more ways than that, from the way you’ve talked about him,” he said. She didn’t reply, just nodded as she wrapped her arms around him. 

“If he can figure it out, I can too,” she said, sounding determined. 

For a few more moments, Embry was truly happy for her. Happy that she had put together a few more pieces to the puzzle that was her gift. That she found something else to keep her connected to her father. 

But then a bit of cold dread slipped in. This gift just might be something bigger than what they originally thought. And perhaps it just might be big enough to get on the Volturi’s radar.

He couldn’t help but tighten his grip around her as Mara continued talking, making various conjectures about her father and their gift. Embry vowed to himself that no matter what, he wouldn’t let anything happen to Mara. 

He would protect her from the Volturi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I’ve got only the last chapter to write. Hooray! Granted, the second to last chapter is a lot shorter than I usually write, however, didn’t really fit to add more to it, so just going to leave it as it is.
> 
> But planning to keep posting often!
> 
> Thanks for reading and following!


	9. An Innocent Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At least one of the rogues is back, but the sudden appearance puts Embry in the detective's crosshairs.

**An Innocent Man**

Embry whistled to himself as he made his way across the UW campus towards his next class. It was one of the rare winter days that wasn’t overcast and he couldn’t help but enjoy the fleeting sunshine. It did come so rarely, after all. 

And with days going by with no more murders or disappearances, it seemed as though the campus had relaxed a bit. While people were still moving around in groups and avoiding be out alone at night, the terror that had permeated the area seemed to have lessened.

It was Friday and all Embry had left was his organic chemistry lab in the chemistry building and then he could head home for the weekend. Despite the fact he was loaded down with homework, he wanted to spend as much time as he could with Jacob, Quil and Paul before they headed back to La Push. They were planning to have a small house party that night before heading out tomorrow morning and invited Katie over to join them. 

Mara had even mentioned inviting the Walkers, who she had somehow managed to spend some time with and further befriend during the week. Though when, Embry wasn’t exactly sure, with her work hours. 

Already, he was thankful that he hadn’t found a job just yet. It was going to be a bit brutal adjusting to his new status as full-time student. If he had been working on top of that as well as keeping an eye out for the rogue vampires, well, he wondered if he would have gotten any sleep at all.

But the rogues hadn’t come back. There had been no murders. No disappearances. The Cullens had already gone back to Vancouver. And he was looking forward to having Saturday and Sunday all to himself and Mara. Well, outside finishing his homework, that was. And potentially searching for a job. Even though he had saved up a fair amount before moving to Seattle and Mara assured him that he could take his time finding one, he didn’t want to wait that long.

It was bad enough he already felt like a freeloader and he had only been living with her for two weeks.

He hoped to find a job at a bar or restaurant near the house so he could work late afternoons and evenings while going to class in the morning and early afternoon. It was going to be tricky and difficult, but it would have to do. At least he would hopefully get some of the weekend off to spend with Mara. And honestly, with the hours she was starting to pull at the newspaper, they would probably be getting home at the same time anyway.

But that was something to worry about on Sunday night. For now, he just wanted to get through his lab and then relax for the rest of the day and night. 

“Oh my god, so there is this raging party going on tonight…”

“Yea, but are you sure we should be out…”

“Please, it’s been weeks! We’re fine…”

Embry bristled slightly as he listened into some of the conversations going on around him. While he felt things were relatively safe, there was the fact that they still had no idea as to why the vampires had been there in the first place. Most of the group seemed to have settled on the idea that they intended to move in on the territory then left when the Cullens arrived.

But he couldn’t help but feel like there was more to it. The fact that no one had heard from Demetri who was supposedly still tracking the rogues didn’t help. Nor the fact that he obviously knew something about the whole situation but didn’t feel inclined to enlighten anyone else on what that was, including his own mate.

But again, that was something that Embry wasn’t supposed to be worrying about right now. He was about to be late to his lab.

He was about to step into the Chemistry building when a slight breeze hit him, causing his entire body to go stiff. Turning suddenly to the right, he scanned his surroundings, noting the usual coming and going of students, all focused on wherever it was they were going. Perhaps he hadn’t really smelled it. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. 

Maybe it was one of the Cullens come back to check on things. 

He took a few steps away from the building, breathing deeply. The breeze blew again, and he knew then that it was no trick of the mind.

There was a vampire on the UW campus, and it was a scent he knew because he had smelled it before. 

Quickly forgetting about class, he set off at a brisk walk in the direction the scent was coming from, glancing around quickly. There were a few students milling around the Drumheller Fountain, but outside that, the area seemed to be clearing out.

It was risky to come out on a day like today - when the sunlight would easily give away the fact that whoever it was wasn’t human. Or maybe not. While the Cullens avoided sunlight, he couldn’t help but think that having glittery skin wasn’t all that intimidating. Nor did it automatically make someone assume that you weren’t human with today’s fashion trends. 

It wasn’t turning into a giant wolf, that was for sure.

But still, all vampires avoided sunlight and the risk of exposing who they were, so this was a ballsy move. As he continued in the direction, he pulled out his phone, dialing Jacob.

“It’s here,” he said as soon as he heard Jacob pick up. “UW campus. I’m heading towards Red Square, but I’m not sure how far off it is.” 

“Got it,” Jacob said before hanging up. Embry slipped his phone back into his pocket and picked up the pace, starting to jog through the campus and looking like any other student who was about to be late to class. Though he stopped every so often to sniff the air and then adjust his path. 

Soon he found himself on the western edges of the campus. The scent had grown stronger, so he knew he was getting closer. Stopping for a moment, he pulled out his phone and sent a text to Jacob with his new location. But then the metallic scent of blood hit his nose and he nearly dropped his phone in his haste to move. 

Embry’s heart began pounding as he turned down a small side street, searching and hoping that he wasn’t too late. 

He slid to a stop and looked down an alley, his heart sinking in his chest as he saw the body lying on the ground, motionless. Embry propelled down the alley, tossing his bag to the side and dropping to the person’s side.

It was a young woman, though he wasn’t sure if she was another student or lived or worked in the area.

“It’s okay. I’m going to get help,” Embry said as he looked down at her neck, assessing the wound. He knew that she couldn’t hear him, but he couldn’t stop as he attempted to help. He saw the familiar etchings of teeth in her skin and she was deathly pale. Blood was smeared around the bite mark and a small, steady stream flowed out to pool on the ground beneath her.

He started to use her scarf to stem the flow that was now a slow trickle, but then stopped, knowing it was futile. She was already dead. He looked around the alley and then reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone to call 911. His hands were already slick with blood, causing it to fly out of his grasp. Managing to finally pick it up again, he looked over at the woman again.

He had known that she would die when he first reached her, but it still didn’t make it any easier. Even though Embry was still an undergrad - hadn’t even taken any medical classes yet – and she was obviously already gone before he got there, he still felt as though he failed. 

“Hey you! What are you doing?!”

Embry looked over, seeing a man in a uniform cautiously moving towards him, a gun out and pointed at his chest. He calmly put his hands up.

“I heard something. Came to look and found her,” he said, keeping his voice even. “I was just about to call for help.” He waved his phone in his hand for good measure.

“I need you to get up and move away from the woman, slowly,” the police officer said. 

Embry did as told, keeping his hands in the air as he stepped back away from the body and his eyes trained on the officer. The man then rushed up and looked down.

“Shit,” he said, his face paling slightly. He then looked up at Embry. “Don’t move.” He then reached for a radio. “Yea, call in Anders. Looks like Dracula is back, and I may have caught him.” 

“I swear, I was just going to class when I heard-”

“Shut up and stay put!” the officer shouted as he bent down and checked the woman’s neck.

“She’s already gone,” Embry said.

“I told you to shut up!” the officer shouted, somehow gaining some bravado from somewhere. Already, Embry could hear sirens heading in their direction as the officer held his gun trained on him. “Turn and place your hands on the wall.”

Embry silently did as told, not wanting to agitate the man and get himself shot. He heard the officer quickly walk over, pulling out cuffs. Part of him wanted to laugh, finding the situation a bit absurd. He had come to help and now he was being handcuffed by a man that he could probably knock out without even a full punch. 

But he didn’t. He remained silent with a stoic face as the officer took his phone, handcuffed him and then started pulling him down the alley. Just as they neared it, more cars pulled in, with Embry marveling at how fast they had arrived. He had only gotten there just a few seconds ago it seemed, though it had to have been longer. 

He couldn’t help but look around, wondering if the vampire was lurking nearby. Waiting. Watching. He sniffed the air as much as he could without attracting attention, but couldn’t tell which direction the bloodsucker went in. 

“Found him over the body,” the officer said, shoving him forward. Embry turned his attention to another police officer who silently regarded him. 

“Put him in the car for now. Anders wants to see the scene and then take him in himself for questioning,” the second officer said.

“But I-”

“Shut up and do it, Collins,” the second officer shouted. The first - Collins - grumbled as he walked Embry over to a car and started to put him in the back seat, the second following. “You got anything to say for yourself?”

“Yes, I found her like that,” Embry said, meeting his eye. “I heard something and went to help. She was already dead when I got there.”

“Yea, right,” the second officer said as he slammed the door shut. 

Embry quietly fumed as they walked away. He knew that he wasn’t really under arrest - they hadn’t even read him his Miranda Rights - but he didn’t like being treated like a criminal when he had only been trying to help. He glanced around as more cars pulled up and a crowd started to form. He could imagine that if the vampire was still around somewhere, they were probably laughing their ass off right now.

“Perfect,” he muttered, trying to get comfortable. He only hoped that the detective got here soon so he could clear this whole mess up.

~~~

Mara sat up in her chair, then spun around and dashed into Richard’s office, hearing the chatter over the police scanner.

“Shit,” she said. “That’s practically on campus this time.” 

Richard looked up at her and nodded as they both continued to listen. The blood then drained from Mara’s face. 

Embry was on campus right now.

Without a word, she ran out of his office and grabbed her things, trying to yank her coat on as she half-ran, half-stumbled towards the door. She would call the others on the way there and have them meet her on campus and then hopefully get a hold of Embry.

~~~

Mara had to park a few blocks away, the crowd around the alley already rather large. She put her phone to her ear, trying Embry yet again and then cursing when it went to voicemail. 

Jacob, Paul and Quil had already been on their way to the campus when she called them, telling her that Embry had smelled the vampire and went after it. Her heart was pounding, terrified that she was about to come up to his murder scene. She knew that he couldn’t risk shifting in such a public area, so what chance did he have? Yes, he was strong, but he was strongest as a wolf. She didn’t want to imagine how a fight might have gone down between him and a vampire if he hadn’t shifted.

But the closer she got to the police tape, the more she allowed her reporter side to take over. Tossing her phone into her purse, Mara knew that the first thing she needed to do before she lost it was to find Anders or someone who could give her more information.

Shoving her way through the crowd, she finally reached the tape - as far as she could go - and looked around, seeing several police cars parked in the street with most of the activity taking place around an alley. She couldn’t see down it but prayed that it wasn’t Embry lying there. 

Just then, Anders stepped out of the alley and spoke to a few uniforms, then looked over to a car. 

“Det. Anders!” Mara shouted, surprised at how collected her voice sounded. He looked over at her, as though he were assessing her presence, and then over at the car. He said something to the uniform and then walked over. “Can you tell me… is it a man or a woman?”

“What do you mean?” he asked casually.

“The victim. Is it a man or a woman?” she nearly shouted. He stared at her, a curious look coming over his face. 

“Woman,” he said. She breathed a sigh of relief. “You got here fairly quick.”

“Heard the call over the scanner,” she said, already looking around the crowd for Embry. Surely, he must be around here somewhere if that wasn’t him lying dead in the alley. 

“What? No other questions for me?” he asked. Mara looked over at him, frowning slightly. Her eyes looked over at the police cars and unmarked sedans just behind him and suddenly widened as they fell on the person in the backseat of one. 

“Why is that man in the car?” she asked, nearly slipping up and saying ‘boyfriend.’

“Oh him? Caught him over the body. He’s a person of interest,” Anders said lightly, smiling. Mara narrowed her eyes at him.

“He didn’t do this,” she exclaimed. 

“Oh, how do you know?” Anders asked, stepping closer to her. If she hadn’t been so frustrated and worried, she probably would have seen he was goading her and been more careful. But as it was, she was already at her wit’s end.

“Because he’s my boyfriend and he wouldn’t do something like this. He’s pre-med and had class today,” she said. “Probably thought he could help when he found the victim.”

“Is that so?” Anders asked, looking over at Embry. He then turned back to Mara and lifted the police tape. “If you would come with me, Ms. Winslow, we’d like to take you in for some questioning as well.”

Mara’s mouth dropped open as she stared at him.

“What?” she asked. “I… no.” 

“Are you refusing? Because I assure you, there’s an easy way and a hard way, and the easy way definitely involves you coming with me now, while the hard way just makes you look even guiltier,” Anders said. Mara stared at him a moment, weighing her options. She then huffed and stepped under the tape. 

“Fine,” she said, following him to a dark, unmarked sedan. As they walked, she saw Jacob, Quil and Paul in the crowd, looks of confusion on their faces. She glanced at Anders and then pulled out her phone, quickly texting Jacob to go to the police station.

She had a feeling this was about to turn into a long day.

~~~

“I told you. I was nearby when I heard something. Went to check on it and found the woman in the alley. Even though she was dead, I attempted to stop the bleeding and call for help. Then the officer arrived before I could make the call. I didn’t see who attacked her. They were already gone by the time I got there,” Embry said calmly for what felt like the millionth time.

He wasn’t sure just how long he had been sitting in the tiny room, but at least they had uncuffed him. He kept his hands on the table, wanting to appear as non-threatening as possible. As soon as they had arrived, they took his clothes and things, giving him a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt that were almost a size too small.

He maintained eye contact with the smug detective that sat across from him. 

“You see, Embry, I know that you were supposed to go to class in the Chemistry building. You must have really good hearing,” Anders said, leaning back in his chair. Embry frowned slightly, wondering how he had figured that out so quickly.

But it didn’t matter. He had already thought of that while he sat waiting in the car – come up with a reasonable excuse for why he might be on the other side of campus from where he was supposed to be.

“I needed to go pick up something in the Social Work building,” he said, glad that he had thought to memorize the entire UW campus map. “Remembered that I needed it before class, which is why I was over there.” 

Anders stared at him, obviously not happy with the answer. It was clear he was hoping to catch Embry in a lie. Thankfully years of hiding the fact he could change into a wolf had made Embry a fairly good liar. And it wasn’t like he could tell him the truth – that the woman had been murdered by a bloodsucker. The detective sat up and leaned on the table.

“Is this something you and your girlfriend like to do? Some sort of foreplay? You commit murders - kidnap innocent students and torture them - and then she reports on it?” he asked. Embry did frown at that, resisting the urge to growl at the mention of Mara. Where had he even come up with that ridiculous idea?

“I didn’t kill her,” he repeated firmly. “I was trying to help. As for Mara, you know that she only writes the stories she’s assigned. We have nothing to do with this.”

“Right,” Anders said slowly, studying Embry with a straight face. “Seems like you’ve got some anger issues.” 

“Sorry?” Embry scoffed. Mara was right, Anders really was a jackass. And apparently an idiot. Embry had been nothing but calm and collected since the first officer approached him.

“I’m supposed to believe that you just happened to hear something from two blocks away. Went to investigate. Then happened across a woman and tried to help?” Anders said.

“Yes,” Embry. “Because that’s exactly what happened.” Anders stared at him a bit and then opened his mouth.

But before he could speak, there was a knock on the window. He scowled at it and then looked back at Embry.

“I’ll be back,” he said, standing and walking out. Embry sighed and sat back in his chair, rubbing his face. 

How long was this going to last?

~~~

Mara stopped mid-pace as the door to the interrogation room opened and Anders stood there, frowning at her.

“You have kept me waiting for hours!” she shouted as she started towards him. “My boyfriend and I have absolutely NOTHING to do with this! I’ve called my family lawyer, by the way-”

“You’re free to go, Ms. Winslow. Your boyfriend too,” Anders said tiredly.

“I-, wait. What?” Mara asked, momentarily confused. Anders sighed and then leveled a scowl at her. 

“We were able to track his movement across campus with security cameras,” he said. “There’s no way he could have committed the murder.” He looked as though he absolutely loathed what he was saying. 

Mara’s eyes widened, but then she walked over and picked up her purse and coat, then walked back to the door. 

“I was just trying to do my job. And Embry was trying to help,” she said sternly. 

“I know. Now get out of here before I find something to arrest you for just because you’re getting on my last nerve,” Anders said. Mara rolled her eyes and then walked out of the room. 

She stopped, looking around the busy room and then nearly ran as she saw Embry walking out of another hallway, a paper bag in his hands. She launched herself into his arms.

“I thought it was you. That you were the body in the alley,” she whispered.

“I’m okay,” he said, though he made eye contact with a disgruntled Anders over her shoulder. The look on the detective’s face clearly read that he still thought they were involved somehow. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Okay, but… I want to go back to the scene later,” she said, letting go of him. He frowned down at her. 

“Why?”

“I want to see if I can do what my father did.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And starting to get into some drama. Closer to finding out just who these rogues are and what they are after. And just what Mara can do when she pushes herself. ^_^ Sorry for the prolonged build-up because it’s taking me forever to get chapters posted. Just need to polish up the finally 2-3 chapters (and well, finish writing the last chapter) and then I can probably just put whatever is left up in one go.
> 
> Thanks for reading and following!


	10. The Truth Will Out... Eventually

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mara pushes herself to expand her gift while Demetri and Cecily share some not so great news.

**The Truth Will Out… Eventually**

Mara rubbed her hands together to keep warm as she peered around the corner of the building. While the crime scene investigators were gone from the site, it was still taped off and being guarded. She had figured as much, but still hadn’t figured out a way to get past them so she could get close enough to try sensing whatever there was to see at the scene.

“Got a plan?” Jacob asked with a heavy sigh.

“Might if you would tone down the snark,” Mara replied without looking at him. Paul snorted then groaned slightly. 

“That hurt,” he whispered.

“You deserved it,” Jacob replied.

“We’re not getting anywhere with everyone snapping at each other,” Quil said reasonably.

“I’m not going to figure something out if you guys won’t shut up,” Mara said, turning to look at them. Embry rolled his eyes and then scanned their surroundings again, worried that this was a sure way to get arrested. 

He knew that he should have tried to talk Mara out of it. At the least, talked her into waiting until the scene was released. But she insisted that they needed to go back tonight. That time was of the essence. They didn’t even know if she could do anything. So far there was nothing in her father’s journal that said anything about what he did to further develop his gift.

Perhaps it was something that just came over time.

“We need a distraction,” Mara said softly, now back to watching the police officers. “Someone needs to distract them and then I can get past them and into the alley.”

“Definitely think that shouldn’t be me,” Embry said. “Spent enough time at the police station today.” 

“Agreed,” Mara said. “But who and how?”

“I can probably help.”

All of them jumped and swung around, seeing Cecily standing there, a smirk on her face. 

“When did you get back?” Mara asked, walking over and hugging her. 

“Just now. Heard about the body,” she said, returning the hug slightly awkwardly. Mara stepped back. “Let me guess, you want to get into that alley.” Mara nodded.

“My dad, he had the same gift and he could… he could see things. I want to try,” Mara said. Cecily studied her a moment and then looked around the corner at the police officers.

“I got this,” she said. She stepped out and casually walked down the street, the rest watching her. “Hey, boys.”

“Ma’am, you can’t be here,” one of them said.

“It’s dangerous. There’s a killer running around somewhere,” the other said.

“Oh, I’m sure I’m fine,” she replied, walking up to them. Mara was eager to see how she did what she did, after hearing about it. Cecily leaned closer to the men, the both of them making eye contact. “Take a walk. Come back in about 20 minutes. Oh, and forget you ever saw me.”

The two men blinked a few times and then walked off. Cecily turned to the group and waved them over. 

“All yours,” she called out. 

Mara stepped out from around the corner and crept down the street, glancing around. She hurried down to the alley. Cecily was staring down it, her nose wrinkled slightly. 

“It’s the same scent,” she murmured. Mara glanced at her and then started walking down it slowly. The air got heavier and she could smell the familiar stench of murder. She stopped at the spot where the body had laid, a medium-sized spot of blood dried on the pavement. She crouched down and took a deep breath and then reached out to the ground, touching it. 

She closed her eyes and tried to empty her mind. She had no idea how she was supposed to do this, but she hoped it would happen soon. The officers would be back in 20 minutes. 

“How does this work?” Paul asked.

“Better if you’re fucking quiet,” Mara said, her teeth clenched. She heard Jacob hit Paul again. 

Finally, everyone was silent as she once again tried to clear her head, thinking about the space she was in. Embry had described the woman to her, so Mara attempted to picture her in her mind, lying on the ground. The wound in her neck still bleeding. She knew what vampire bite marks looked like. Could clearly see it in her head.

But yet, she couldn’t really see it. It was just what she imagined it looked like.

Sighing, she opened her eyes and glared at the ground. This was getting her nowhere. She thought back to what her father had written. It seemed like he just closed his eyes and it was there.

Mara sat down on the ground, resting her chin on her knuckles as she stared at the dirty pavement, feeling the cold start to seep in through her jeans. She frowned as she continued staring.

Christ, this was a stupid idea. She had dragged everyone out here in the dead of night for a stupid idea and potentially get them all arrested.

“Keep trying,” Embry said, stepping up to her. She looked over as he crouched down next to her, looking at the ground. “It’s in you somewhere.” 

Mara looked back at the ground and took a deep breath, slowly letting it out. She then closed her eyes and reached out, placing both hands on the cold pavement. A furrow appeared on her brow as she thought about the woman, willing everything in her mind to open up. Show her something. Anything. 

She could feel a dull ache start up in her forehead, but she continued pushing, clenching her jaw. She could feel Embry place his hand on her back, his warmth spreading through her. 

“We don’t have much time,” she heard Cecily say.

“Just give me a minute,” Mara said. 

She saw a flicker of something. Gasping, she screwed her eyes shut more, pushing her brain to comply. It was as though she was pushing against some sort tough film in her mind that wouldn’t give. 

There, another flicker. A flash of red eyes. Wild hair.

She gasped again. Almost there. 

“Mara…”

Suddenly, something gave just a little. She saw the woman fully now, standing at the end of the alley, but the sun was at her back, putting her face in shadow.

_Aren’t you a tasty looking snack…_

She took a step. 

“Come on,” Mara whispered. “A little bit closer…”

Another step. She could make out the red of her eyes, the glittering of her skin. The wicked curl of her lips. Her long, wild, wavy, brown hair. 

Mara’s eyes flew open as she fell over.

“Mara!” Embry said, reaching for her.

“Guys, we gotta go,” Cecily said. 

Mara looked up at Embry, smiling.

“I saw it… I saw her,” she said. Embry quickly kissed her and started to pull her up off the ground.

“Come on,” he said. Mara nodded, but as soon as she tried to stand, she fell over, her head throbbing.

“Oh, god,” she said. 

“Mara!”

She looked back at him and then everything went black.

~~~

“Shit! We have to go now!” Paul hissed. Embry quickly hefted Mara up in his arms and ran down the alley, following the others as they headed down the street. Cecily stayed behind a moment. She looked over her shoulder, seeing the others disappear around the corner and then turned to follow. She stopped and peered around, seeing the two police turn the corner and walk back to their posts. 

She then turned to the others as Embry looked down at the still unconscious Mara in his arms. 

“What happened?”

They all looked up, seeing Demetri suddenly there, looks of shock on all of their faces. A week with nothing. No word. And now he was suddenly back.

“Mara tried to… I don’t know. We found out that her father could… read crime scenes. She tried to do the same,” Embry said, looking back down at her. “She said that she saw who did this, but… then she passed out.” He reached down and touched her cheek. “Christ, she’s ice cold.”

“Get her back to the house,” Demetri said urgently, already looking around the area. “We should all get back. Now.”

“What’s going on, Demetri?” Cecily asked, stepping up to him. He looked at her, reaching out and caressing her cheek.

“We must get somewhere safer. And then I will tell you,” he said softly. He then looked at the wolves. “Let’s go. _Now._ ”

~~~

Mara groaned softly, feeling a pounding in her head. She blinked open her eyes and saw Embry’s face hovering just above hers. He smiled in relief.

“Welcome to the land of the living,” he said.

“How long was I out?” she asked, rubbing her forehead. She was on the sofa in the living room, buried under three blankets. A fire was roaring in the fireplace. 

“Not long,” he said. “A half hour. We just got back.” She looked around the living room, seeing the wolves also hovering nearby, all three of them wearing looks of concern. 

“Good. You’re still alive,” Paul said, smirking slightly. Mara rolled her eyes and then tried to sit up, but Embry pushed her to lay back down.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, back to worrying about her.

“My head hurts,” she replied. Embry looked up at Quil. 

“We have some pain killers in the cabinet next to the stove,” he ordered. Quil walked into the kitchen.

“I saw her,” Mara said. “I saw the vampire doing this. I didn’t see much, but it was enough.”

“Who?”

Mara looked over seeing Cecily standing there.

“She had long, brown hair. Crazy curly. And then… red eyes - she said the woman looked like a tasty snack,” Mara said.

“That doesn’t give us much,” Paul grumbled.

“Doesn’t matter. I know who it is, and you are up against someone far more dangerous than you think,” Demetri interrupted. Mara sat up on the sofa and looked towards the kitchen, seeing him standing there, a grim look on his face. 

“Weren’t you supposed to be tracking them?” Paul asked.

“Yes, and she led me back here,” Demetri replied, not looking at anyone. “Which means she wants us here for some reason and has been toying with me this whole time.”

“Who is she?” Cecily demanded. He finally looked up, meeting her eyes.

“Alessandra,” he stated. “And the Volturi has been after her for centuries. She is… incredibly talented at evading capture, though I am unsure if it is a gift of hers or a trick that she picked up over her many years of existence. She is… the one vampire that I have been unable to catch.”

A heavy silence settled around the room at that statement. Demetri admitting there was someone that he couldn’t track was something that even Mara could tell he didn’t want to do. As it was, she couldn’t tell if he was agitated or embarrassed. 

“For more years than I can count, she’s toyed with me. Allowing me just close enough before she disappears. And then it’s another 50 or 100 years before she shows up again. Always creating trouble.”

“Why does the Volturi want her?” Jacob asked. Demetri’s eyes flicked over to him.

“Isn’t it obvious? She’s too flamboyant. Every so often she gets it in her head to create a coven, but she’s unable to control them so things get out of hand,” the vampire said. “But she, herself, is rather strong. Cunning. If she is here, the Volturi will come for her if we do not take care of things. And they will bring the entire guard to dispense of her. She’s been here too long as it is.”

Embry reached out and grabbed Mara’s hand, squeezing it.

“Then we have to take care of her before that happens,” he said, staring at Demetri.

“We may need more than this,” Demetri said, glancing around the room. “She has at least 10 with her now. I believe at least one is not a newborn. Helping her to control the others.” 

“Why college students?” Mara asked.

“She has a thing for young, pretty things,” Demetri said. 

“Okay, so we need to get the others back. And maybe all the Cullens,” Jacob said. “Unless you know of any other vampires nearby who could help?” Mara looked over at him, noting the look of shock on Paul’s face. She supposed it was rare that Jacob asked for help outside of the Cullens. “Any of those friends of the Cullens from before around?”

“I do not think we will have enough time to gather more. And I doubt that they would speak to me,” Demetri said grimly. “I am still Volturi. Technically.”

“Well that’s great,” Paul said. 

About that time, Quil walked up and handed Mara a couple of pills and a glass of water. She quickly took them and gulped down the water. She wanted to speak and up and chime in, but she was the only human among supernatural creatures. What good could she do? Even the little bit that she had tried hadn’t been worth anything. And it left her with a massive headache to boot.

“You’ll figure it out. You did good tonight, but let us handle it for now,” Embry said softly as the others began to discuss who to call in. She nodded and smiled weakly.

“Thanks.”

~~~

Cecily stared at Demetri, knowing that there was more about this Alessandra that he wasn’t saying. That he didn’t want to say. 

She stepped over to him, touching his arm. It was their first physical contact in over a week. While she was grateful that he was safe, she couldn’t help but think that he needed to tell them everything if they were going to defeat this Alessandra.

“What is it?” she asked softly. He looked over at her, a sad look coming over his face. “What is it that you’re not telling me? Did… something happen with Alessandra?”

He reached out and cupped her cheek, gently caressing it with his thumb.

“She is… very powerful, Cecily,” he said.

“Any more powerful than others? Does she have some sort of crazy gift?” she asked. “Why can’t you track her?” He was silent a few moments and then shook his head.

“I am not sure,” he finally said. “All these years that I have known her, I have never been able to fully sense her - to fully grasp her mind - so that I can follow her. As for the others, that could very well be something that she’s learned.”

“How long have you known her?” Cecily asked. Demetri was silent again. “Demetri…”

“She is very old,” he finally said, causing Cecily to roll her eyes. He was being evasive on purpose. 

“Demetri, we need to know everything that you know about her if we’re going to defeat her,” Cecily said. Demetri then looked at her, for a moment, his eyes reflecting fear that she didn’t know had been lurking inside him.

“I pray that you do not meet. If she finds you, she will destroy you first,” he said urgently and so softly that the others couldn’t hear. Cecily frowned, stepping back from him slightly. “This is why I had hoped to end her threat without you getting involved.”

“Why would she come for me? What’s more, why didn’t you say something about this before?” she asked, starting to get a bit angry. “Like maybe sometime in the last three or so years that we’ve been together? Traveling around the world where she could have easily found us?”

“Because I thought, perhaps, she had finally left me alone for good. It had been far longer since the last time I encountered her,” he said. “I never thought that I would find a mate… that _this_ would be a threat that I would have to consider. And I fear that I had become too complacent. And now I may reap the consequences.”

Cecily swallowed, getting a sinking feeling in her stomach that they were dealing with something a bit more than an old, disgruntled ex. She knew that Demetri had been with others. He had admitted when they first met that he had been a bit of a ladies’ man before her. 

But she never thought any of that would come back to bite him in the ass. It was starting to get clearer that that would be the case. 

“Wait… so she’s coming after me because she has a thing for you,” she said slowly. “Why didn’t you tell me this?”

“It’s far more than that, Cecily,” he said softly, looking away from her. 

Oh, he was about to get it, she thought. She had told him about every single relationship - well, relationship was probably not the right word - but _thing_ that she had had in her human life before him. And he had told her that though he had had many dalliances during his over 2,000 years of existence, none of them were ever serious. But apparently that had been a lie. 

“You said that you would never lie to me, Demetri,” she hissed. He flinched.

“I did not lie. To me it was nothing,” he said. Cecily groaned and rolled her eyes. But before she could continue, she felt her phone vibrate. She pulled it out, seeing that Alice was calling.

“After I take this call, you and I are having a very long chat,” she stated before turning away. “Hey, Alice…”

~~~

“That does not look like it’s a very pretty conversation,” Mara commented as she watched Cecily and Demetri have a hushed argument in the kitchen. “You think this Alessandra is an ex of his?”

“Maybe?” Embry commented, also watching the exchange. “Though… I didn’t think the Volturi had relationships. Well… until he and Cess got together.” Mara turned to look at him. “That created a lot of stress at the time. Jacob didn’t trust Cess - she had just turned and joined the Cullens. Wasn’t even out of the newborn stage and then Demetri shows up.”

“What happened?” Mara asked, leaning towards him. Embry chuckled.

“Well, you know how she was turned right?” he asked. Mara nodded. “A few months after, the Volturi had somehow gotten word about her. Ordered the Cullens to bring her over to them so they could meet her. I guess… make sure that she wasn’t going to blow the secret or something. They went, she met Demetri. He told her that they were mates and she didn’t believe him. Cullens came back and then a few months later, he followed, saying he wanted to get to know her better since she didn’t trust him.”

“Sounds romantic to me,” Mara commented. Embry chuckled again. 

“Well… Volturi and romantic don’t really seem to go together. I’ve told you about them coming over here because of Nessie,” he said.

“Right… thought she might be some sort of threat and was going to kill everyone,” Mara said. 

“Yea, well, when Demetri showed up, Jacob was on edge, thinking that it was the Volturi spying on the Cullens and us,” Embry said. “He’s come to trust Cess, but I’m not sure if he’ll ever completely trust Demetri. Not until he leaves the Volturi.”

“You think he would?” Mara asked. Embry looked over at the couple.

“I know Cess has said that he wants to. Doesn’t want to work for them anymore and would rather spend his time with her,” he replied. “And more than that, he doesn’t want the Volturi to know about what she can do. They’ll never leave them alone if they do.” Mara nodded and looked over, seeing Cecily step away from Demetri, her phone to her ear.

“I do not like this Volturi,” she said with a sigh.

“Join the club,” Embry said ruefully.

At that moment, Cecily’s face went stiff. She then nodded and hung up, turning to the group.

“Guys,” she said loudly, getting their attention. “That was Alice… the Volturi’s coming.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! Forgot to post! Been a bit busy now that South Korea is starting to come out of the super social distancing phase… Got rehearsal for a musical all weekend, so that’s taking up a lot of my time outside of work. But going to keep posting as much as I can. Just need to finish writing that last chapter.


	11. To Find a Snipe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The vampires and wolves set out to hunt down Alessandra and her coven while Mara is left behind to worry.

**To Find a Snipe**

Mara remained seated on the sofa drinking her now-cold tea as chaos reigned over the living room. As soon as Cecily had uttered the words that the Volturi were planning to come, everyone had leapt to their feet, all shouting over each other about what to do. Everyone save Demetri, who was still in the kitchen, silently brooding. 

And well, Cecily, who was standing next to Jacob, but glaring at Demetri. Mara couldn’t blame her. She probably wouldn’t be too happy if she were in the same situation. Just now finding out that the person behind the recent deaths and disappearances was none other than your boyfriend’s crazy ex. Something he had clearly known from the beginning of this whole mess and decided to keep to himself until now. 

“Alice and Jasper are on their way here. Rosalie and Emmett were already on their way back from Asia and are going to head straight here as well, but it’ll take a bit longer,” Cecily said, turning her attention to the wolves for a moment.

“They’ll be here too late,” Demetri said, finally contributing to the planning. He was suddenly next to Cecily, causing Mara’s head to spin slightly. She still had a headache and felt as though she would never get used to how fast the vampires moved. “We need to go now.”

“Can you even track them?” Jacob asked. “How are we supposed to find them if even you don’t know where they are?”

“I have a feeling that Alessandra will want me to find her,” Demetri said with a slight grimace, avoiding looking at Cecily. “There are 10, which will put us at a disadvantage, but if Alice and Jasper go as well, we’ll have a decent chance.”

“What about Mara?” Embry said. “I don’t want to leave her here alone.” 

“Excuse me, you are not leaving me here,” Mara said, pushing up from the sofa, a stern glare on her face. “I’m going too.”

“Absolutely not,” Embry and Jacob said at the same time.

“You’re human,” Cecily added, though her response was a bit gentler. 

Mara knew they were right. And there wasn’t much she could do to help - well, there was nothing she could do to help. But it didn’t stop her from wanting to be there. She didn’t like the idea of sitting at the house and pacing around, waiting to find out if they were successful. Who would get hurt. 

Who might not be coming back.

“Okay, so I’m staying. But Embry’s staying with me,” Mara said, planting her hands on her hips. She wasn’t about to give up so easily. Embry frowned, obviously wanting to go fight. Jacob looked conflicted. He wanted Mara to stay where it was safe, but it seemed he hadn’t thought about the fact that they shouldn’t leave her unguarded.

It looked like he was struggling to decide which of their fighters would stay behind, likely putting them at an even larger disadvantage.

“What if we had Lila and Bruce stay with her?” Cecily suggested. Mara perked up at that. She liked the neighbors. After clearing the air, they seemed to be decent people and she and Lila were fast becoming friends.

And it wouldn’t detract from the numbers they sorely needed to fight off 10 vampires - at least 8 of which would be newborns.

“That might work,” Jacob said. In a flash, Cecily was gone, likely already over at the other house explaining everything to the Walkers and asking for their help. “Okay, so that’s settled. As soon as they get back, we’re heading out.” He looked at Demetri. “Anything we should know?”

“Alessandra is a seasoned fighter. She will be very cunning so don’t underestimate her. You should let me handle her. The others will be newborns-”

“We’ve dealt with them before,” Paul interrupted. “We know how to fight them.” Demetri studied him a moment and then nodded.

“Very well,” he said. “You know that they will be very strong, but they will not be organized. We have that advantage over them. We must work together.” He slowly looked around the group, meeting the gaze of all four wolves. 

“What if you go somewhere where they can’t shift?” Mara said, stating what she thought was the most obvious kink in whatever plans they may have. “If you find them somewhere populated, it’s not like you can just turn into four massive wolves.”

“We’ll deal with that when we get there. If we have to,” Jacob said. 

“But you can’t fight them as humans,” Mara pushed.

“We will deal with it,” Embry said firmly. Mara looked at him, frowning at the tone of his voice. His expression softened. “Trust us, we’ll handle whatever is coming.” 

“Fine. Just better be coming back to me,” she said, lifting her nose slightly in the air. Embry smiled as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

“Don’t worry. I’ll always come back to you,” he said softly. Mara frowned slightly, angry that he didn’t seem to be taking this so seriously. But then he squeezed her to him tightly and she knew that he most definitely was.

“Okay, so we ready to go?” Cecily asked, appearing in the living room with Lila and Bruce. Just behind them were Alice, Jasper and a vampire that Mara didn’t know. 

Just how many Cullens were there again?

“Thought you might need some reinforcements,” the newcomer said, his face stern. “Until Rosalie and Emmett can get here.”

“Good to have you here, Edward. We might need you to communicate should the wolves shift. We can go out into the woods. That’s where I last picked up the trail,” Demetri said. Everyone nodded and started towards the back door.

“Be safe… all of you,” Mara called out.

“We will,” Jacob replied.

They all seemed hopeful, but unfortunately that didn’t help ease Mara’s worry. All she could do was pray that they would come back. All of them.

~~~

Embry was running as fast as he could. They had left the forest and were now making their way through warehouses and docks that were thankfully dark and abandoned in the middle of the night.

They had stopped for a moment, all wondering if they needed to shift back in order to avoid drawing too much attention, but Demetri had pushed them forward, telling them that they were almost there.

So, they had thrown caution to the wind and continued on, hoping that there wouldn’t be any unsuspecting humans running around. Embry hadn’t smelled any nearby, but the stench of vampire certainly was stronger. 

Suddenly, Demetri slid to a stop, putting his hand up. Embry could hear Jacob grumbling in his head, obviously not happy with taking orders from the Volturi tracker, but it wasn’t as though they could do anything about it. As it was, he was the only one who could fully track Alessandra and her horde. And he knew her better than anyone else.

He was the only one who knew her, actually. 

They all stood still, straining to listen to their surroundings. The vampires then all turned to look in the same direction, obviously hearing something that the wolves could not. 

At least not yet.

“Be ready,” Demetri said, tensing as Embry finally heard footsteps approaching them. 

They all turned to face a space in between two warehouses, making out 10 figures as they casually made their way towards them in the darkness.

“Ah, Demetri… how long has it been, lover?” a woman called out. 

Cecily was standing next to Demetri at the front of the group. She tensed a moment, but then moved closer to the tracker, reaching out for his hand.

“I see you have brought your new toy,” Alessandra continued, looking Cecily up and down, sizing her up. 

“Mate,” Cecily growled. The woman stepped into the moonlight and stopped, a look of mild amusement on her face. Her gaze slid from Cecily over to Demetri.

“Mate?” she asked calmly, her eyebrows rising. “Who knew you had it in you?” 

“What do you want, Alessandra?” Demetri called out. “Why are you here? This territory is protected.” Alessandra snorted.

“Obviously not very well if it took you this long to find us,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her, a devilish smirk on her face. Cecily looked absolutely livid and for a moment, even Embry was slightly terrified of her. 

“It is,” Edward called out, stepping up next to Cecily and Demetri. “By us. If you have no business here, we suggest you leave. The Volturi are already on their way.” 

“Oh, goody,” Alessandra said lightly. “It’s been centuries since I’ve run into them. We can have a nice little chat.” 

“You know once they catch you, they won’t let you survive,” Demetri said. Alessandra chuckled.

“That’s what you think,” she said. Her red eyes then settled on Cecily. “So… a mate… well… suppose that’s the first thing I should take care of-”

“Again, why are you here?” Demetri pushed, though he stepped mostly in front of Cecily. “Why are you doing all of this?”

“I had to get your attention somehow,” Alessandra said sweetly, smiling at him. She then looked to Cecily. “How old is she? Can’t have been turned all that long ago…”

“Leave her out of this. It’s between you and I,” Demetri growled. Alessandra looked at him and then back at Cecily, licking her lips.

“Not by far.”

Suddenly she was in motion - almost too fast for Embry to follow - lunging straight for Cecily. Demetri pushed the redhead out of the way and met head-on with Alessandra, the sound of the two vampires colliding reverberating throughout the abandoned docks. 

That was all it took for the others with Alessandra to attack, running towards the rest of their group. In seconds, it was chaos as bodies flew and growls and snarls filled the air. Embry quickly thought back everything they had learned back when they trained to fight newborns, what they had put to use, finding it all coming back to him rather easily despite it being several years.

He worked with Quil, quickly taking down the first vampire and then turning to next. It was hard to keep an eye on them as they moved in and out of the fray too quickly, though thankfully were just as disorganized as they had predicted. It made them easier targets to take out. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Demetri pinning Alessandra against a warehouse, but then just as quickly, she had kicked him away and started towards Cecily again, who was fighting off another vampire. Demetri knocked Alessandra off course and the two disappeared, moving far faster than Embry had seen any of the Cullens move. Save maybe Alice. 

_Embry, watch out!_

He turned quickly, sidestepping away from a newborn that had been attempting to jump on his back. He then leapt on him, pinning the vampire down as he hissed and gnashed his teeth. Embry growled and then snapped his jaws around the vampire’s head, yanking back hard until his head came off. He spit it out and then leaped over to help Quil as two others tried to corner him, easily dispatching one while Quil took care of the other.

For a time, Embry thought that they were winning. That things were in control and they would take care of this situation rather quickly and without any injuries or losses. Alessandra’s numbers were dwindling quickly thanks to their disorganization. Perhaps Demetri had been wrong and there was no reason for them to worry. Once they got rid of her coven, they could all team up to take Alessandra down together. 

And then he could go home to Mara.

_Jacob, behind you!_

The red-brown wolf leapt to the side and easily took out the vampire that had been trying to sneak up on him. Alice then somersaulted gracefully over his head and started fighting with the vampire that he had been initially battling. 

This was nearly over.

“Demetri!” 

Embry looked over, seeing Cecily staring towards the tracker, who was rolling across the ground and then nimbly jumped to his feet, a wicked grin filling his face as he started moving again. Embry tried to follow him but was quickly distracted when another vampire attacked him. 

He had just latched onto the vampire’s arm and ripped it off, turning back to finish the job when a shout rang out, stopping everyone on both sides.

“STOP UNLESS YOU WANT THE HUMAN TO DIE!”

He looked up suddenly, his heart stopping.

Alessandra stood off from them, grinning evilly as she held a woman tightly in front of her, her head pulled painfully to the side and Alessandra’s mouth hovering just over her neck. She trembled in fear as her eyes met Embry’s.

“Don’t… move…”

~~~

Mara didn’t stop pacing once everyone left, worried beyond anything she had ever felt before. More so than she had been in Forks. That had only been one vampire. This was 10. Newborns, which were super strong. Much stronger than your average vampire.

What chance did they have? Well, that wasn’t true, Mara told herself. They were 9 against 10. Four of which were wolves. And Demetri, Edward, Alice and Jasper were all experienced fighters, right? At least she thought so - she didn’t know Edward but knew that everyone save Cecily and Demetri had fought against the last group of newborns years ago. She wasn’t sure what sort of fighting experience Cecily had, but Demetri was Volturi and super old. That had to count for something, right?

“It’ll be fine,” Mara told herself for probably the 50th time in the last 20 or so minutes.

“Just relax. I’m sure it’ll all be over with soon,” Lila said, a comforting smile on her face. Mara looked over at her. While she still didn't know much about her or Bruce, she still felt a bit better at the statement. She nodded and stopped pacing, taking a deep breath and then slowly letting it out.

“Of course. Yes. It’ll be fine,” she said to herself. “It has to be.”

“Do you want more tea?” Lila asked, already in the kitchen. 

“Maybe a glass of wine might be better,” Mara said ruefully as she walked over and sat down on the sofa. She heard Lila laugh. After a minute or two, she was walking up to Mara at a more human pace, holding out a glass. “So… you two thought Seattle would be a nice place to settle down?”

“Yea, though beginning to second guess that,” Lila replied. “We’ve been moving around so much, just the two of us. Thought it might be nice to find others like us.”

“How did you hear about the Cullens?” Mara asked after taking a sip of her wine and looking over at Lila.

“Lots of vampires know about the Cullens,” she replied casually. “First of all, there aren’t many that are vegetarian. Just them and I think a coven in Alaska, as far as we know. And most of us tend to travel around alone or in groups of two or three at the most. Not many settle down in such large amounts - just the Cullens and the Volturi.”

Mara nodded slowly, processing all the information. It was more than she had gotten on vampires before. 

“So… how did you find out all _this_?” she pushed. “I mean… when you become a vampire, is there like, a welcome guide or something?” Lila chuckled.

“No,” she said firmly. “But if you’re lucky, you’re turned by someone who explains everything. I did. And then when I turned Bruce, I passed on all the information I knew to him. The rest… you figure out as you run into others.”

“You turned Bruce?” Mara asked. A soft smile came over Lila’s face.

“Yea… I mean, I hadn’t really intended to turn anyone. I honestly never thought that I had the self-control to stop before completely draining someone, but then I met Bruce,” she said. “I had been on my own for some time, but… it got a bit lonely. And then in 1988 - I found Bruce. Handsome, kind. And… even though I knew that I should stay away from humans, I couldn’t help it with him. Something drew me in…”

“He was your mate,” Mara said, starting to smile. Lila nodded. 

“We fell in love, but… I wasn’t sure just how to tell him about what I was. Not with the Volturi, you know,” she continued. “But then… one night, we were in a bad car accident. And I knew that he wouldn’t survive, so… I pulled him from the wreckage and turned him…”

“Sounds like it worked out,” Mara said, smiling. Lila brightened up a bit and nodded.

“It did. Though it took a few days for it to settle in that he could no longer be around his family. He missed them terribly, and well… I had never really had a family of my own,” Lila said.

“And that’s why you were looking for the Cullens,” Mara stated. Lila nodded again. 

“I’m hoping once all this is over that maybe we could still connect with them. The others, they seem nice,” Lila said, though there was a hint of worry in her eyes.

“I’m sure they would love to meet you. The rest of the family, that is,” Mara said. “I mean, I haven’t met all of them, but the ones I have seem really nice.”

“I hope so,” she said. “So… you and Embry…” Mara chuckled.

“Yea. That’s another pot of weird,” she said before taking a drink. “Apparently they - shapeshifters - have this thing called imprinting. When they see a person for the first time after their first phase, they sort of… connect with them.”

“Like mates,” Lila said. Mara nodded.

“Something like that... I’m his imprintee,” she said. “We’ve only been together for a few months, but… it feels like forever. In a good way.”

“You two are good together. I can see that,” Lila said. 

Before Mara could reply, Bruce walked into the house through the back door, his face grim. Immediately, Mara was on her feet and walking towards him.

“What’s wrong? Have you heard something?” she asked urgently. He glanced over her shoulder, likely at Lila, and then back at her. He cleared his throat, looking as though he didn’t relish whatever he was about to say.

Which only made her worry even more.

“I’m so sorry, Mara,” he said softly, seeming genuinely upset. Mara’s heart stopped as the glass fell out of her hand and shattered on the wood floor, splashing red wine everywhere. She couldn’t breathe as she took a few steps back, slowly shaking her head.

“No,” she whispered, her mind going to the absolute worst conclusion.

Embry was gone. 

“No, no, no,” she said, tears starting to blur her sight. Bruce said nothing, just continued to stare at her with the pained look on his face. “How…” 

This couldn’t be happening. Wouldn’t she feel something? She and Embry were connected in a way that others weren’t. He had imprinted on her. Didn’t that mean she would feel some sort of cosmic snap in their connection if he were truly gone?

“He can’t be… it can’t be…” 

She looked back up at Bruce. There was something else in his expression. Something in his eyes that she couldn’t decipher. Her skin began to crawl as Mara got the impression that something was going on. Something that didn’t involve Embry’s death.

Something that she should be afraid of.

“Bruce - what’s going on?” she demanded, though there was a slight quiver in her voice. 

He still didn’t speak. But it didn’t matter. At that moment, Mara felt something hard collide with the back of her head. 

And then everything went black. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And things are picking up! But there is still a fair bit more of story to go from here. I’ve got a total of 20 chapters, so a bit over halfway there. ^_^ And sorry about not posting as often. I’ve been caught up in an original novel (that I’m currently posting over on Fictionpress) the last few weeks, so that’s been taking up most of my attention lately.
> 
> Thanks for reading and following!


	12. The Tradeoff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alessandra always has something up her sleeve. And just when they think they've got her cornered, she pulls out a trump card.

**The Tradeoff**

“Wake up, Mara!”

Mara groaned, her head pounding yet again, as she struggled to open her eyes. She was vaguely aware that someone was holding her. And she recognized that voice. Then she could hear shouting. And snarling. Snapping.

“Mara!” Lila hissed. A wolf howled.

Mara’s eyes finally snapped open as she looked up at Lila’s face, feeling the frigid winter air in its force. Why were they outside? Where was her coat? She then looked over, her eyes widening as she saw the battle unfolding before her. The wolves and Cullens were winning - at least it looked that way. Embry was alive and well. But why was she here?

Lila dropped her on her feet, though Mara struggled to stay standing. Thankfully, Lila provided some support.

“Lila, why are we here?” she asked, feeling woozy.

“I’m so sorry,” Lila said. Mara looked over at her, her eyes still wide.

“You knocked me out,” she stated.

“I didn’t have a choice,” Lila said. Mara struggled to get out of her grip, but it was no use. The vampire was far stronger than she was. “But she promised that she wouldn’t hurt you.”

“She…. who…” Mara stopped struggling as her mouth fell open. “You… You’re with her? Alessandra?” Lila’s eyes were filled with tears. 

“I didn’t want to do this, but… you see… Alessandra turned me… and she threatened to kill Bruce if I didn’t bring you,” she explained, stumbling over her words. “But.. it was just a backup plan… I never thought that-”

“You fucking betrayed us!” Mara shouted, trying to fight against her grip again. And once again failing.

“Please, Mara, I never wanted to betray you. I thought we could be friends,” Lila continued.

“Fat chance of that now,” Mara snapped. “Let me go!"

“I can’t,” Lila said, already looking elsewhere. Mara followed her gaze, seeing Alessandra locked in a duel with Demetri. It was clear that he was starting to get the upper hand. Perhaps he would kill her now and end this whole thing. 

Then Lila wouldn’t have to hand her over. 

“You don’t have to do this,” Mara pleaded, looking back at Lila. “You can let me go.” Lila met her eyes, the torment clear in them. “Please.” Her grip started to loosen a bit and for a moment, Mara felt a surge of hope. 

Then she heard a loud boom, her head whipping over to see that Alessandra had just launched Demetri into the metal wall of a nearby warehouse. She turned and saw Lila and Mara, her red eyes lighting up. The next second, she was in front of them.

“Good. You brought her.”

She reached out and yanked Mara into her arms, causing her to yelp in pain. She then positioned Mara in front of her, yanking her head to the side so her neck was exposed. Mara tried to get out of her grip, but it was useless. 

“STOP UNLESS YOU WANT THE HUMAN TO DIE!” Alessandra shouted. 

Immediately everyone froze, their eyes fixed on the two of them. Mara met Embry’s eyes, whimpering in pain. For a moment, she wondered just how the hell she was going to get out of this alive.

“Don’t… move…” Alessandra said slowly, her voice all too loud in Mara’s ear. She could feel her cold breath on her neck. Demetri looked horrified from where he stood not so far off, Cecily next to him. Mara could tell that the redhead’s mind was already trying to work out a way to get her away from Alessandra.

Embry growled from the middle of the group, already looking as though he was aching to bound towards them. His ears were laid back against his head as he bared his teeth and snarled.

“I propose a trade,” Alessandra continued. “I’ll give you this measly little human… if Demetri comes with me and we’re allowed to leave. Well, what’s left of my coven.” 

Mara couldn’t speak as Alessandra pulled on her hair again, causing her to shout in pain. Embry snarled again and took a step forward.

“Ah, ah, ha,” Alessandra sang, her mouth closer to Mara’s neck. “I can snap her neck in a second, mutt. Don’t try me.” Embry whined in response. “You heard me… you want your little mate, then Demetri, I and my coven leave in peace.”

Mara shivered, the combined winter cold and the chill soaking through her clothes from Alessandra’s body making her feel as though she were nearing hypothermia levels. 

But still, no one moved, all of them looking at Demetri. Waiting. His face was set in a determined gaze as Cecily reached out and touched his arm. Mara worried what would happen to him, but at the same time, she hoped that he agreed. 

That she wasn’t in her last moments on this earth.

It felt like it was taking hours, but it was more like seconds, she knew. Her mind was filing through memories - all the people she would leave behind. Her mother. Katie. Richard.

Embry.

They had just found each other and now they were about to be ripped apart. The cold swept into her bones, causing her to begin shivering uncontrollably as she went through every single memory of her and Embry together. Tears began pouring down her cheeks as her neck continued to ache.

She gulped and then whispered, “I love you,” at Embry, causing him to whine again.

Mara was never a religious person, but in that moment, she began praying to God, Buddha, whoever might be out there listening to just get them through this alive.

“Please,” she said mentally over and over again as she closed her eyes. “Please, let us live…”

~~~

_Why isn’t he doing anything!_ Embry shouted, looking over at Demetri as the bitch continued with her taunts, her grip tight around Mara. He could tell in the moonlight that her lips were rapidly turning blue as her teeth began chattering. Tears were already streaming down her face as she began shivering uncontrollably. 

She mouthed, “I love you,” then closed her eyes, her lips seeming to be moving as though she were whispering prayers. He was doing much of his own.

He couldn’t live without her. They had to save her somehow.

But still, Demetri didn’t say anything. Didn’t move.

_Stay calm,_ Jacob ordered.

_SHE’S GOING TO KILL HER!_ Embry roared. _WE HAVE TO SAVE HER!_

_Demetri will do the right thing,_ Jacob replied.

_And how can we trust him? He’s Volturi scum!”_ Paul shouted. Jacob turned his head towards Paul and growled. 

_He’ll do the right thing,_ Jacob said. _Besides that, any of you make one wrong move and she **will** kill Mara._

Embry whined again, his heart racing as the stare down continued. The longer they stood there, not doing anything, the more desperate he got, wanting nothing more than to rush Alessandra and bite her head off himself. 

His eyes then fell on Lila and Bruce, who were huddled off to the side, watching the action play out in horror. He snarled in their direction, watching as the couple backed away a few steps, their gaze turning to him and the other wolves.

_We trusted you!_ he shouted in his mind even though he knew they couldn’t understand him. He snarled in their direction. But they appeared to get the message from the looks on their faces, both of them looking to the ground in shame. Bruce pulled Lila towards him, whispering something to her. She nodded, then looked towards Mara and Alessandra. 

_Easy, Embry. We don’t want her to think that you’re about to attack and then kill her,_ Jacob warned. Embry looked over at him and then back at Alessandra, who was grinning at Demetri.

He could feel his blood pounding through his body. Every particle in his body was screaming to attack. To do whatever he could to defend Mara. But his mind told him to wait. It was pure torture.

“Surely the decision isn’t that difficult,” Alessandra crooned. “Unless… you still are the vampire I once knew… I’ll take you either way, but I do love when you’re bloodthirsty…”

She inhaled deeply.

“And this one smells so sweet…”

~~~

Cecily looked to Demetri, squeezing his arm. She didn’t want him to go with Alessandra, but it was the only way to save Mara. Surely if he went, he could figure out a way to escape. Or she would spend the rest of her immortality trying to track him down and then kill Alessandra herself.

She then looked at Alessandra, trying to find some opening to get Mara away from her. But her lips were dangerously close to Mara’s skin, one arm wrapped around her middle while the other was buried in her hair, pulling her head farther over. 

She was in pain and cold, her entire body now shaking. And no matter what Cecily tried to think of, every scenario ended with Mara’s dead body on the ground. 

“Go,” she said softly, looking back at Demetri. He turned to look at her, his expression softening. He leaned his forehead against hers, his hand gently caressing her cheek. She had known that he would turn himself over from the moment Alessandra issued the trade. That he would willingly offer himself in exchange for Mara’s life. 

Because that is who he truly was. He was no longer the cold-hearted vampire who took joy in killing others. He had changed. For her. Though Cecily was of the mind that this side of him had always been there somewhere lurking inside. 

But her heart still broke all the same, knowing that they were about to be separated yet again. And she didn’t know for how long or if he would make it through this next trial alive. What they would find at the end.

In that moment, she knew she had forgiven him of everything.

Of hiding his history with Alessandra. For not telling her anything. For going off on his own. He had done it to try and protect her. All she wanted was for him to get out of this alive so they could be together again.

“I will escape and come back to you,” he replied. “But I need to get them away from here before the Volturi arrives.”

“I know,” Cecily replied. 

“I’ll lead them away and try to take care of her when we’re alone,” he whispered. “Stay strong, Cess. I _will_ come back to you.”

“You owe me a wedding when you get back,” she joked. He smiled slightly before kissing her gently. He then turned towards Alessandra, taking a few steps in her direction.

“Let her go. You don’t need her. I’ll come willingly,” he said clearly. Alessandra grinned, but didn’t loosen her hold of Mara. 

“I know,” she said, though she didn’t move to let Mara go. “Lila, Bruce.” 

The couple looked over at her.

“Good job. You’re free now,” Alessandra said. “A deal’s a deal.”

“You promised you wouldn’t hurt her,” Lila said, sound far more stronger than she looked in that moment.

“I know,” Alessandra said again, her eyes fixed on Demetri as he neared her. 

“Then let her go,” Demetri said again, now standing next to her. He quickly assessed Mara, relieved that she was mostly unhurt other than whatever pain she felt from Alessandra’s grip. “I’m here and I’m going with you. You have me.” 

Alessandra jerked her head to the side and the five vampires who remained with her quickly ran off. She grinned at the others and then reached out and took Demetri’s hand as her other hand slid down to grip Mara’s waist. A look of relief came over Mara as she straightened her neck.

“Good-bye,” she said, loosening her grip. Mara started to move towards Embry, but then suddenly, she was yanked back, colliding with Alessandra’s hard chest. “Not so fast. Someone’s eager to see what you can do-”

Before anyone could react, she sunk her teeth into Mara’s neck, biting down and causing a bloodcurdling shriek to leave Mara’s lips.

Embry howled in agony as she tossed Mara to the ground and then spun around, dragging Demetri as they ran off and disappeared into the night.

Embry shifted and ran over, taking Mara into his arms as she screamed and writhed in pain. Part of him wanted to give chase - to kill Alessandra - but Mara needed him more.

“Do something!” he shouted, looking up at the vampires still present. “Someone fucking do something!” He looked back down, pulling her closer to him as he gripped her face, trying to stop her from flailing about and hopefully warm her up. She was ice cold.

“M-m-make it s-s-s-stop,” she stuttered before her eyes squeezed shut and another scream left her lips. “I-i-it burns!” Embry tightened his grip as he looked up again, his eyes pleading for one of the vampires to help. He then looked back down at her.

“It’s going to be okay, Mara. I promise… It’s going to be okay…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this one is super short, going to post Chapt. 12 and 13 in one go. I tried to flesh it out more, just couldn’t. And really wanted the two to be separated.


	13. To Make a Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A choice must be made - how best to save Mara.

**To Make a Decision**

Embry felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest as he stared down at Mara in his arms. She was screaming, her body contorting in ways that it shouldn’t as she clawed as her neck. 

“God, it hurts!” she shrieked.

Embry looked back up, seeing that the other wolves had shifted and pulled on their jeans, now surrounding them. He looked over to Alice, Jasper, Edward and Cecily.

“What do we do?” he asked, his voice desperate. “Is she… is she turning? Can we stop it? Is she dying?!”

He didn’t really know what was going on. He hadn’t seen what happened with Bella, but she had been dying when Edward turned her. Was at death’s door. All the others had as well. Jacob had told him that all Edward did was bite her several times. Was this what it was like? Each shriek of pain ripped a new hole in his heart. All he wanted to do was to make the pain stop.

Alice looked at Jasper, whose jaw was clenched tightly. He was breathing heavily as well. She looked back at Embry, a woeful expression on her face. 

“I’m sorry,” she said softly, before the two disappeared. Embry looked down at Mara, now noticing the blood pouring from the wound on her neck as she continued to convulse in pain. She reached out and grabbed his arm, her nails digging into his arm.

God, there was so much blood. Why was there so much blood? He needed to stop the bleeding or else she would die in his arms.

“Make it stop, please,” she panted before screaming in pain again. “Make the pain stop!” He didn’t know what to do. Was there a way to stop it? Or was she going to turn? Embry looked up at Cecily, seeing Edward already walking away with the phone to his ear. He was talking to Carlisle.

“Is there a way to stop it?” he asked desperately. “Can you stop it? What do I do?!”

Cecily looked over at Edward and then back at Embry and Mara. It was clear that she was struggling to keep herself in check. But she kept clenching and unclenching her hands.

“There’s a way to stop her from turning,” a voice said. “If we suck out the venom and get all of it. But we have to do it now. And there’s no guarantee that it will work.” Embry looked over, seeing Lila and Bruce walking up to him. Lila holding out her cardigan. He had completely forgotten they were there, but he took the cardigan and held it to Mara’s neck, trying to stop the blood. She looked over at Bruce, who took one sniff and then ran off.

“Then do it!” Embry shouted. He held Mara out. “Help her!” 

Cecily looked over at Lila and then back down at Mara before running off as well, finally reaching the end of her control. Lila stood still for a moment and then quickly walked over and dropped to the ground next to Mara. She gently moved her head and bent down, latching on to her neck and beginning to suck. She breathed deeply and closed her eyes.

Embry watched silently, praying that this would save her. And that he hadn’t just condemned Mara to die by telling Lila to suck out the venom. He knew that some vampires couldn’t help themselves - that’s why Jasper and Cecily had run off, too overcome by the smell of human blood. He barely even knew Lila. Maybe she didn’t have the same control. But it was the only shot they had.

The more she drank, the less Mara struggled against her, her arms going limp as her eyes rolled back into her head. But still, Lila drank. Embry began to grow more and more worried.

“That’s enough,” Embry said hoarsely. “Stop, you’ll kill her.” Lila glanced up at him but continued. “That’s enough!” 

She finally sat up, rubbing her mouth with the back of her hand as he looked down at Mara. She was deathly pale and felt like ice in Embry’s arms.

“We should get her back to the house,” Edward said, walking up with a look of concern on his face. “Carlisle is on his way. Should be here soon.”

“Come on,” Jacob said softly. Embry looked up at him, swallowing. “We need to go.”

~~~

A tense silence had fallen over the house. Embry had taken Mara directly upstairs to their bedroom with Edward, while everyone else convened in the living room. The vampires stood still as stone while Paul and Quil paced around. Jacob leaned against the fireplace, staring at the flames after he started it up again. 

Bruce and Lila stood off to the side, both looking as though they should be somewhere else other than there. In fact, they looked as though they were about to bolt any second. Cecily wasn’t even sure why they were still there.

In the aftermath of everything, she wasn’t sure how she should feel. There was a dull ache in her chest over losing Demetri. Worry over Mara. Anger at Alessandra. She turned her eyes to Lila.

“Why?” she asked, her voice low. “Why did you do it? Why are you even still here?”

Lila looked over at her, tears in her eyes as Bruce held her.

“I didn’t want to,” she said. Immediately, Cecily was across the room, holding Lila up by her neck. 

“She was an innocent bystander in all this. Why?!” she demanded. 

“Let her go!” Bruce growled. Cecily glanced at him and then back up at Lila, who wasn’t even fighting back, though she struggled to speak.

“Cecily!” Alice shouted. 

“No, Alice! This is her fault and she’s going to answer for it!” Cecily shouted. “Demetri is gone because of her! Mara is almost dead! She still might turn!” 

“She can’t talk!” Alice shouted. Cecily breathed heavily a few moments and then put Lila down, letting go. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Paul nod at her approvingly. 

“Talk,” Cecily said, crossing her arms in front of her. Lila looked over at Bruce and then back at Cecily. 

“We really did move here to settle down. Start over,” she said.

“I’m done listening to your excuses,” Cecily hissed, feeling Paul and Quil stepping up on her sides, both of them vibrating with anger. 

“Alessandra turned me in 1902,” she said. “She got me out of a bad situation.” 

“We all have sob stories,” Cecily retorted. “I grew up in the foster care system. Boo hoo.” Lila swallowed, but met Cecily’s gaze straight on. 

“She saved my life,” she said softly. “I _owed_ her my life.” Cecily didn’t react, just stared at her. “What I didn’t know at the time is that she never does anything for free or out of the kindness of her heart.” 

“So, this happened because she threatened you?” Cecily asked.

“After we moved here, she showed up one day. Had tracked me down. Said she was here to cash in on her favor,” Lila said. “She threatened to kill Bruce if I didn’t go with her plan. All she said was that when she gave the word, I was to take Mara and bring her to her. She swore that she wouldn’t hurt her. And that after this, she wouldn’t bother us again. She’d let us go free.”

“And you trusted her?” Cecily shouted.

“What choice did I have?!” Lila shouted. “She would have found someone else if it wasn’t me! I had to make sure that she wouldn’t hurt Mara!”

“And look where that got her!” Cecily shouted, pointing towards the stairs. “You could have killed her!”

“But I didn’t!” Lila retorted. “I know that it doesn’t make up for what I did, but I had to do something! I couldn’t let her die and I couldn’t let her turn, knowing that’s not what she wanted!”

Cecily was silent. She shot one more look at Lila before turning and stalking off. She didn’t want to admit it, but Cecily was feeling guilty that she didn’t have the resolve to try and save Mara herself. She wanted to. But she had never had human blood. She didn’t trust that she would have stopped before completely draining her. She shot another look over at Lila, who was being comforted by Bruce and then ran her fingers through her hair, looking away. 

She couldn’t stand to see them. To see another couple. Not when her mate was currently off god knew where.

Fuck, what did they do next?

~~~

Embry came downstairs the next morning and stopped, taking in the scene before him. Paul was stretched out on the couch, while Quil was dozing off in a chair. Jacob was pacing in front of the fireplace. Alice stood with Jasper, Cecily and Edward, quietly speaking to the redhead, who looked like she wanted to bolt when she wasn’t sending death glares to Lila and Bruce. 

He sighed and walked into the living room, immediately getting everyone’s attention.

“How is she?” Lila asked, her eyes full of worry and remorse. 

“He just finished an exchange transfusion,” he said tiredly. “She’s still out, but Carlisle thinks that we got the venom out in time. She just needs some rest.” He stared at her a moment. “Thanks.” She nodded. 

“I just wanted to make sure that she’s okay,” she said. He nodded and looked around at the others. He then sighed and walked over, sinking into the other armchair as he rubbed his face. It had been a long night and he was exhausted. But his mind was so worried about Mara, that he wasn’t completely sure that he would sleep if he tried.

“You should get some rest,” Jacob said. “You look like shit.”

“I feel like shit,” Embry said, looking over at him. He glanced around the rest of the group. “What do we do now?”

“Nothing,” Jacob said. “We wait here to see how Mara does.” He looked over at the four Cullens.

“Demetri said… he would try and lead them away, so that the Volturi didn’t come here,” Cecily said. She looked at Alice.

“I don’t see them coming anymore,” she said, confirming that Demetri had succeeded. 

“I want to go after him,” Cecily said, looking back at Embry. “But your work is done. I can take it from here.” Embry nodded and looked down at his hands again. Now that the danger of Mara dying or turning had passed, a deep sense of guilt washed over him.

This was his fault. She had been in danger because of him. Who he was. He had drawn her into this. He couldn’t help but think that if she had never met him, if he had never imprinted on her, then she would have never been in danger to begin with.

Seeing her lying in the bed, her skin much paler than he had ever seen. Weak. Near death. Watching as Carlisle checked her over. Hooked up to the machines he had brought. That he hadn’t used in years. Though he assured Embry that she would be okay, he couldn’t help but worry as more time passed and she didn’t wake up that she never would.

He had then thought of the other option. That she would wake up one of them. It didn’t change how he felt about her. He would never stop loving Mara. Would stand by her for as long as he was alive. Help her through the transition. But he knew that it would kill her in some ways. That she would be devastated to say good-bye to her mother and Katie. Richard. But even that was better than watching her die. 

He rubbed his face again, Mara’s screams from the night before echoing through his head. Her begging for the pain to stop. He hoped he never had to experience that again. 

“We would have helped her,” a voice said softly. Embry looked up, seeing Edward standing next to him. “We wouldn’t have let her lose control.” He nodded and looked down at the ground again. “She’s going to be okay.”

“I know. Still doesn’t change the fact that this is my fault,” he said. He looked up at Edward, seeing his brow furrow. He wasn’t particularly close to him. Hadn’t spent that much time around him, save whenever he went with Jacob to visit Nessie before they moved. 

“It’s a hazard… being with someone like us,” he said softly, looking away. “But she knew.” 

“Doesn’t make me feel any better,” Embry said, looking towards the stairs. Carlisle had just descended and was waiting. He stood and walked over, motioning for him to follow him into the office. He then turned to face him.

“She won’t turn,” Carlisle said. “I’m certain of it. She’s unconscious, but her heartbeat is stronger.”

“When will she wake up?” Embry asked softly. Carlisle shook his head.

“I’m not sure,” he said. “She’s been through a lot.”

“Okay,” Embry said. “Thanks.” 

“Don’t mention it,” Carlisle said softly before leaving the room. Embry looked around before sitting at the desk and dropping his head onto his arms. Everything around him reminded him of Mara, which only made him realize just how close he had come to losing her last night.

Was he never going to escape from this life? What’s more, would Mara always be in danger because of him?

~~~

Mara felt like she was submerged in water. It was warm and dark. Everywhere she turned to look, she couldn’t see anything. She could hear voices, but they sounded as though they were coming from far off. Muffled.

She swore that she heard Embry’s voice and she latched onto it. 

“Embry! Embry! I’m here!” she shouted, turning her head from side to side. 

She saw a flash of something. She turned her head to the right and started moving in that direction. The flash happened again. She stopped, swearing that she saw her father. 

“Dad?”

_You have to be brave, Mara…_

She stopped as suddenly she saw a scene before her. Her father bending down to talk to a younger version of herself. She had to be about 10 or so. They were out hiking. Mara remembered that trip clearly. 

But then it changed, and she was 15, walking into his study where he was hard at work on an article. However, he pushed it aside to listen to her talk about school that day.

_I love you, Mars Bar…_

Mara watched as several memories of her father played out before her from her life. She missed him dearly and sorely wished that he was still here. She then watched as a few more recent memories played out of her and Embry. 

Going on a picnic. Hiking through the forests that surrounded the neighborhood. Picking out new furniture.

Why was she dreaming about all of this? Was she dying? Or perhaps she was already dead and this was some sort of afterlife. The last thing she remembered was being in excruciating pain that started in her neck and then was slowly spreading through her entire body. 

Perhaps that’s what this was. Alessandra had killed her, and she was now going to spend the rest of her days reliving old memories. A deep sadness filled her. She didn’t want to leave Embry and the others. Her mother. What would they tell her about how she died? Would Anders investigate?

Mara reached out towards Embry’s face, wishing that she could touch him again. 

But it suddenly changed again, this time she was staring at Alessandra as the vampire grinned at her. 

_Aren’t you a tasty-looking snack…_

It was the fleeting image that she had seen while at the crime scene. And even though Mara knew that it was only a memory, she couldn't help but shudder at the cold glint in her red eyes. 

She hoped that Embry and the others killed her. That they hadn’t let her get away with it. She had double-crossed them after all. Said that she would let Mara go if Demetri went with her. Mara then remembered what she had said just before she bit her.

_Someone’s eager to see what you can do…_

What did that even mean? Who was eager to see what she could do? And why? 

_I believe Lila got all the venom, but an exchange transfusion will make sure we get whatever else of it might linger…_

_So, she won’t turn?_

_No, I don’t believe that she will._

Mara looked around in the darkness, wondering where the voices were coming from. She knew one was Embry, but she didn’t recognize the other. It was soft and kind. Were they talking about her? Was there a chance that she wasn’t actually dead? Hope began to fill her. 

Now if only she could get herself to wake up so she could hug Embry and let him know that she was okay. 

Yet again, the scene before her changed. But this time, it wasn’t any place that Mara remembered. She frowned as she stared at the beautiful garden before her. Where was this place? It wasn’t any of her memories. 

She then watched as Alessandra stepped into the garden wearing a white, flowy dress, her hair pulled up on her head. She was adorned in various gold bracelets and bands. Mara’s eyes widened as she saw that her eyes were no longer a terrifying red, but actually a warm brown.

Was this Alessandra’s memory?

Demetri then walked out next to her, a smirk on his face. Though his eyes were now blue. Holy shit, was Mara seeing a memory of them before they were turned? They really had known each other a long time. 

_Our fathers wish that we be wed soon,_ Demetri said.

_I would love nothing more,_ Alessandra replied. 

“Oh my god,” Mara whispered. 

But before she could see anything more, she was yanked backwards. Mara’s eyes flew open as she gasped and sat up, looking around her bedroom. She breathed heavily as she looked around, her head aching again.

She needed to tell the others what she saw. Throwing her covers off, she got up and stumbled to the door and pulled it open. She could hear hushed voices speaking from downstairs.

Carefully, she made her way down the stairs. Everyone stopped speaking as they turned to see her.

“You should be resting,” a man with blonde hair said, quickly stepping up to her side. Mara gave him a confused look. “Carlisle Cullen.” 

“Mara.”

Both of them turned to see Embry step out of her office. 

“What are you doing up?” he asked. 

“I’m fine, but I think I-”

“You should be in bed,” Embry said, lifting her up in his arms.

“I’m serious,” Mara said. “I need to tell you-”

“Later,” Embry said, already walking to the stairs.

“I saw her memories! I think I know where she's going!” Mara shouted. Embry stopped and looked at her strangely. 

“What? How?” 

Mara looked over, seeing Cecily immediately at her side, a concerned look on her face. 

“I don’t know how. I was… I kept seeing all of my own memories… I think I was dreaming. And then suddenly I saw her and Demetri in some garden. But it was before they were turned into vampires,” Mara said. Cecily’s eyes widened. “They really have known each other a long time…”

Cecily looked over at Carlisle and then towards the other vampires. 

“Thanks, Mara,” she said, turning to smile at her before going to talk to Alice and the others.

“Now… back to bed with you…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, Chapt. 13 as well! I know the whole memory thing is weird and to be honest, I haven’t sorted that out myself – so, admitted plot hole there. Possibly could do with Mara’s gift…
> 
> Thanks for reading and following!


	14. Wheels In Motion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath, Mara decides it's time to seek out her father's family while Cecily worries about how they are going to find Demetri.

**Wheels in Motion**

“If you’re going to hover, the least you could do would be to get in bed,” Mara said, her eyes still closed. Embry’s eye widened as he put his book aside and sat up in his chair, not realizing that she was awake. Mara had been dozing off and on for the last few hours after her grand entry downstairs as she gradually recovered from last night’s ordeal. “You need to sleep at some point as well…”

Sighing, he knew she was right as he pushed up out of the chair and got into bed. Embry was completely exhausted and barely keeping his eyes open as it was. He had read the last paragraph in his book a good 20 times without really retaining any information.

Mara turned over and immediately snuggled up against him, not opening her eyes. He could still hear the others talking downstairs, though they were attempting to keep it hushed so Mara could further rest. Carlisle had promised to stay a few days to look over her. 

The other Cullens were currently making arrangements to fly to Greece.

Embry had to admit that he was glad his and Mara’s parts in this whole thing were over and that hopefully from here out Mara would be safe. And that they wouldn’t have to deal with vampires again for a very long time. Though he couldn’t help the niggle at the back of his mind that it wasn’t completely over. That somehow the Volturi would find out about Mara and start watching her.

Then they would never truly be free, would they? Though he had to admit that the Cullens lived rather freely despite the fact the Volturi had been watching them for years. However, he’d rather not find out.

Embry couldn’t stop thinking about how it couldn’t have been some random rash act for Alessandra to turn Mara. There had to have been a specific reason. Why else would she have done it? Granted, it wasn’t as though he knew anything about her. The only person who really did was currently with her. Though perhaps he could try talking to Lila to better understand what had happened.

Perhaps Alessandra had only done it out of spite. To keep them preoccupied so that they couldn’t or wouldn’t attempt to follow her and Demetri. Not for any other ulterior motive than that.

“I’m going to be okay, you know?” Mara murmured. He looked down at her, tightening his hold on her. “This is over.” Embry took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

“But you almost weren’t okay,” he said softly. Mara opened her eyes and looked up at him. She was still a bit too pale. There were still dark circles under her eyes. Even though Carlisle swore that she was fine and just needed to rest, she still looked a bit like death warmed over. Embry would have preferred taking her into the hospital. But that wasn’t an option with her injuries - he didn’t even begin to know how to explain them to the medical staff without raising an alert.

She had a bite mark on her neck that looked like the wounds that had already killed at least six people in the city. He was fairly sure all the major hospitals were on alert to contact the police if anyone showed up with one.

Not to mention, he wasn’t in the mood to deal with Det. Anders again this soon. It was hard enough coming up with a believable excuse to explain why she was missing work without going into the hospital. Again, Carlisle to the rescue with all the necessary documents should anyone question it.

“Even if… I would have been okay,” she said. “Doesn’t mean I particularly wanted to become a vampire, but we would have made it work.” He stared down at her. He had to admit that part of him was happy that he was staring into her brown eyes and not red eyes. Though he would still have accepted her had they not been able to stop the change. But it didn’t stop the guilt from roaring inside him.

It should have never happened to begin with. 

“You would have never been in this situation to begin with if it wasn’t for me,” he said, finally saying the words that had been weighing on his mind. Mara frowned slightly as she pushed herself up. Embry looked away. 

“Hey, look at me,” Mara said, reaching out and gently guiding him to look at her. “This isn’t your fault. We just… got caught up in the middle of something.”

“Yes, but we wouldn’t have been caught up in it if it wasn’t for who I am,” he said. 

“And that’s not your fault either,” Mara said sternly. “You had no choice in any of it. None of this is your fault.”

“You could have died-”

“I could die walking down the street, Embry,” she replied. “I could die on my job. I could die in my sleep from some weird, undiagnosed medical condition. You do not get to take the blame for this. The only person to blame is Alessandra and that has absolutely nothing to do with you. I could have gotten mixed up in that all on my own just because I was covering those murders. But I wouldn’t have known what I was getting into and this could have turned out a lot worse just because of that.”

Embry stared at her without speaking. He reached out and caressed her cheek as his eyes misted up.

“I thought I was going to lose you,” he said softly. 

“You didn’t. And you wouldn’t have lost me if I had turned,” she said. “It would have… involved a lot of adjusting… but we would have worked through it. Like all other couples. Everyone has things that they have to work through.”

“Not like this,” he said.

“Okay, fair point. But we’ve both known from the beginning that there are some things that make us different,” Mara said. “That there were always going to be… issues… that other couples don’t have. But it’s okay. We’ll get through this. Because _like_ other normal couples, we’re willing to deal with those issues. It’s going to take work, but I’m willing to do it. And so are you.”

Embry didn’t speak, just looked away.

“Stop blaming yourself,” she said, leaning towards him. “I don’t blame you, so you can stop blaming yourself.” He finally looked at her again. “I’m going to be okay. _We’re_ going to be okay.” 

He sighed heavily and pulled Mara close, not wanting to let go of her again. Worried about what else could potentially happen if he let her out of his sight. But at the same time, he knew that he would have to eventually. She would have to go back to work. He would have to go back to class. 

Perhaps this was truly over, and life could finally regain some sense of normality. At least normal for them.

“How many days off do you think I can get out of Richard?” Mara asked. Embry couldn’t help but chuckle. He glanced down at her.

“You really want to take off more than necessary?” he asked, a hint of laughter in his voice. “I thought for sure we were going to have to tie you down to get you to stay in bed long enough to recover.” 

“You do know me well,” Mara said with a sigh. “I promise to stay the days necessary if you stay with me.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not planning on leaving your side for a while,” he said, settling down. He had just closed his eyes when Mara sat up again. He opened his eyes. “What?”

“I think I should go to Port Gamble and try to reconnect with some of Dad’s family that’s still there,” she said quickly. “I mean… I know the chances of finding someone there who knew about his gift are next to nil, but… It’s the only place I can think to look to find out more about it.” 

Embry thought it over - while it was a bit of a long shot, it did make sense. 

They still hadn’t found any of his earlier journals. The ones they did have didn’t seem to mention anything about how it started or developed further. If they could find someone there that had known him when it first started showing, it was something. Maybe a young Harry might have shared it with another person, not understanding what it was.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll go with you. But not until you’re feeling better.” Mara nodded and lay back down. “Now… you really should get some more sleep.”

“So, should you,” Mara replied, though she ended up yawning towards the end of the statement. Embry chuckled.

“We both sleep. And then we’ll get something to eat and plan our trip,” he said, his eyes drifting closed.

“Deal…”

~~~

Cecily sat and stared out the window of the plane as they took off. Thankfully, Demetri had made her privy to his vast financial network - as well as his travel connections. He had spent a long time as the Volturi’s tracker, meaning he often had to use various means to get around the world undetected, not just vampire means. They had a private jet ready to head to Greece rather quickly and after a rather rushed hunt, she was setting off with Rosalie, Emmett, Alice and Jasper. Carlisle had stayed behind to look after Mara while Edward went back to Vancouver. Both had said they would keep a look out, should Alessandra or the Volturi decide to show up.

Thankfully, Alice hadn’t seen any change in plans as of yet. So far they seemed to have decided against going to Seattle, likely getting word on what happened through their vast network of spies.

“Hey, how are you doing?” Alice asked softly as she sat next to Cecily. The redhead turned to her, giving her a tense smile.

“Been better,” she admitted. “I spent so long worrying about the Volturi cutting things short - never even thought to worry about Demetri’s past coming into play.” She looked back out the window, feeling tears start to well up again. She felt like she had been on the verge of crying for the last 24 hours, but still attempted to hold off. She needed to be focused right now, not wallowing in worry or self-pity.

“It’s going to be okay. We’ll get him back,” Alice vowed.

“Not so sure about that,” Cecily said, her pessimism sneaking in. They didn’t know what they were going to find once they got to Greece. She wasn’t even completely sure where to look once they got there. She had an idea where to start, though it wasn’t completely foolproof. 

Edward had helped better describe what Mara had seen in her dream - it was the hunting villa that Demetri’s family had owned back in the day - as in around 1,000 AD. He had at least told Cecily about that. But none of them were sure on how or why Mara had seen it - it didn’t really make much sense unless Alessandra had somehow passed on some of her memories to Mara when she bit her.

But that wasn’t common, and it didn’t seem like anyone else had experienced it before. Though they were all willing to believe it and just chalk it up to yet another weird, unexplainable vampire thing. Cecily wasn’t so sure. She still was very much an investigative reporter and needed proof and evidence to explain it. Even the supernatural had to have its explanations, right?

And while she knew roughly where the villa was, there was no guarantee that they would be there. As far as Demetri was aware, it had fallen into ruin a long time ago and he had lost track of who owned the land, cutting ties with his human life completely in the more than 2,000 years he had been a vampire.

But it was the only clue that they had, so she knew they needed to start there. If Alessandra hadn’t taken him there, Cecily wasn’t completely sure where to look next, but hoped that she would find some sort of clue or hint once they were in Greece.

Though it would have helped if Demetri had told her about Alessandra from the beginning. While Cecily had forgiven him for keeping his ex from her (honestly, he had started telling her about a few in full disclosure and she had stopped him, finding he had far more former lovers than she cared to hear about), it would have been nice to have known about this one. At the very least so she would have a better idea of the woman and where she might take Demetri. Especially so that she could find him before the Volturi got involved. Granted, now that she thought about it, he had mentioned that he was betrothed as a human…

For all she knew, Alessandra could be taking him straight to the Volturi, though Cecily couldn’t imagine why. Demetri had said that she had spent the better part of the last few centuries on the run from them, after all.

“You’re his mate. You’ll find him,” Alice said.

“I’m worried about what I’m going to find when I finally get to him,” Cecily said dryly.

“Demetri wouldn’t-”

“Not that,” Cecily said, cutting her off. “We still don’t know why Alessandra was after him. What she wants from him. I don’t for a second think that this is only because she wants to get back together with her ex. She’s got some sort of plan. And then there is the whole thing about the Volturi being after her... and what was with biting Mara? She didn’t have to do that. She had Demetri. We weren’t going to fight them. She wanted to turn her on purpose, but why?”

Cecily went quiet as all the questions floated around her head over and over again. None of it was adding up. She was missing something. If only she could figure out what it was. She didn’t like feeling like she was missing something important that kept her from seeing the whole picture. 

“Okay, first of all - we have a few hours before we land, so you don’t have to figure out everything right this second,” Alice said calmly. Cecily frowned. “Secondly, you _will_ find him.” The redhead then sat up in her chair, her eyes widening slightly as she leaned towards Alice.

“You saw it, didn’t you?” she said, starting to smile and feel a bit lighter. Of course, Alice had seen that all of this would work out. That it would be okay. Though just as quickly as she started feeling better, the look on Alice’s face stopped her. “You saw something I’m not going to like.”

Alice sighed and shook her head. 

“I saw that you find him, but I can’t see what happens beyond that. Too many other decisions to be made,” Alice said. “But thought it might help if you knew that you found him.”

“Wish you could tell me when,” Cecily said, looking back out the window with a frown. Alice just sighed from next to her. 

“So where exactly are we going once we land…”

~~~

Mara chuckled as she sat at the table with the others later that day, feeling well enough to go down and eat something. Paul was keeping the group entertained and she couldn’t help but feel like a weight had been lifted from all of them. They no longer had to worry about the rogue vampires in Seattle. 

Life would go back to normal for them.

The doorbell rang, interrupting Paul’s story. Immediately, Embry was up and walking over to answer it as Carlisle stepped out of the office where he had been on the phone. 

There was silence after they all heard the door open, but from the way Jacob, Quil and Paul stiffened as they looked over in that direction, Mara had a good idea who was there. 

Her suspicions were confirmed when Embry led a nervous-looking Lila into the living room and then kitchen. Mara frowned at her, remembering all too clearly that she had knocked her out and delivered her to Alessandra as a back-up getaway plan.

“What are you doing here?” Mara asked coldly. Lila glanced around the room and then settled her topaz eyes on Mara.

“She’s the one who got the venom out,” Embry said before the vampire could speak. “She pretty much saved you.” Mara’s eyes widened as she looked over at Lila, who was now staring at the ground.

“I know it’s not much, but I wanted to come over and maybe explain. See how you were doing. Apologize,” she said. 

Mara sat back in her chair, figuring it was the least she could do. 

“Go ahead,” she said. Lila looked up at her.

“Okay, so… I told you that Alessandra was the one who turned me,” she started. Mara nodded. “What I didn’t tell you is that… she pretty much saved my life. I… was from a rather poor family. My father was an alcoholic. Abusive to my mother and my seven brothers and sisters… One night, in a drunken rage, he took it out on me when my mother didn’t come home… I was the oldest… He left me for dead. That’s when Alessandra found me.”

Lila stopped a moment before continuing, as though she wasn’t used to telling this story. 

“It was 1905 and… at first I thought that she was this… angel of sorts. She saved me from dying. Turned me into this… powerful being. And she was richer than anything I had ever seen before… I went from starving and slaving away to help take care of my family, fearing for my life every night, to… having whatever I wanted…” she said. “And she taught me how to hunt. How to stay under the radar. But then… then I realized just how cruel she was. That she doesn’t do anything out the kindness of her heart. She always has ulterior motives.”

“Okay,” Mara said, motioning for her to continue, though she couldn’t help but start to feel bad for Lila. 

“I didn’t want to keep killing people to survive or… some of the other things she made me do. I felt… like a monster. I wanted to break free from that. I tried to run away, but she caught me. And then… for some reason, she let me go,” Lila said. “At the time I thought maybe she had gotten bored with me and was moving on to another plaything. And that I would be free from her. But then shortly after Bruce and I moved here - after we had met you - she showed up.”

“And she decided to cash in on her favor,” Mara said. Lila nodded. 

“At first she just wanted us to watch you. But then, she told me to bring you to her - that it was a contingency plan if things didn’t work out with her other plans. I refused. She then threatened to kill Bruce and then me. And said that she would never contact us again if I did this,” Lila said. “I thought… well, I didn’t think it would come to that. And I worried what could happen to you if it was someone else - someone like her - so I agreed.”

“Did you know anything about what she was planning?” Jacob asked. Lila looked over at him, almost as if she had forgotten the others were there. She shook her head.

“I swear, I didn’t know what she was doing. At least, she didn’t tell me about it. When I heard about the murders and disappearances… I had a feeling it might be her,” she said. She looked back at Mara. “I’m so sorry. I never wanted to bring you into this or… I’m so sorry I couldn’t stop her from hurting you. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I just… I needed to apologize.”

The room was quiet as everyone waited for how Mara would respond. She glanced around, taking in the various expressions. Paul, Quil and Jacob were clearly still unhappy with Lila. Embry was cautious. Lila, for her part, looked miserable. 

Mara sighed and sat up in her chair. She was still angry about Lila and Bruce handing her over, but she had to admit that if she had been in the same situation, she would probably do just about anything to protect or save Embry. And Lila had helped her in the end. Without her, she’d still be writhing in pain right now on the verge of becoming a vampire. 

“I appreciate what you did to help, and I understand that… it must have been difficult for you,” Mara said carefully. “And… I suppose I can forgive you... eventually. But it’s going to take some time to trust you again.” 

Lila was silent, stunned by Mara’s reaction. Paul, Quil and Jacob were as well. The only person who didn’t seem surprised at all was Embry, which figured. 

“I… okay,” Lila said. 

“Now, is there anything you can tell us about Alessandra that might be helpful?” Mara asked, seeing Carlisle watching from the living room just over Lila’s shoulder. 

“I, well, she didn’t really share all the intimate details of it to us,” Lila admitted. “But if I know her, she’s probably using Demetri to barter with the Volturi.” Mara frowned.

“But he’s already Volturi,” she said.

“Yes, and he’s valuable to them. They won’t let anyone kill him. They’ve been after Alessandra for a really long time, so it would make sense - at least to me - that she would hold him hostage until they agreed to stop hunting her,” Lila said. “Or something like that…”

“This seems like a pretty elaborate plan to grab Demetri. He’s been traveling all over the world for a few years now. A lot of that time it’s been just him and Cess. Wouldn’t it have been easier to just grab him then?” Jacob asked. “Why go out of her way to lure him to Seattle? And all the carnage?”

“To get his attention, I suppose,” Lila said. “I don’t know the full story there, but I do know that she’s obsessed with him. Spent an equal amount of time wanting to kill him and wanting to be with him.” She glanced around the group. “She may be a bit mad, but she’s crafty. And pure evil.” 

“I’ll call the others - let them know,” Carlisle said, starting to pull out his phone.

“Did you guys ever spend time in Greece?” Mara asked, remembering what she had seen in her dream. She still didn’t understand why she had seen it but figured if anyone here might know more about it, it would be Lila.

“She’s from Greece originally,” Lila said. “Didn’t go back very often back then, but… I think I remember her talking about some property she had purchased there… an old family villa near Athens.” Mara looked towards Carlisle, her eyebrows raised. He nodded and dialed, walking off.

“Right, well…” Mara started as she looked around the room. “Anyone up for a game of Scrabble?”

~~~

Aro stood at the window in his private study, looking out over Volterra. He didn’t turn even though he heard Caius walking in.

“They are heading to Greece,” Aro said before his brother could say anything. “And prepared for the handover.” He turned to face him. “Soon Demetri will home where he belongs.”

“And Alessandra? You would really let her go free?” Caius asked, frowning. “She has been a problem for many centuries, Aro.”

“Yes, I know. And we will take care of that,” he said smoothly. “Once we have Demetri and Cecily within our fold, we will dispense of her once and for all.” He paused and glanced down at some papers on his desk. “Have you looked into our other… situation… in Seattle?”

“I have,” Caius replied. “She remains human.” Aro looked up at him, surprise in his milky red eyes. 

“Is that so?” he asked. “Well, then… I suppose we shall have to keep an eye on this… see how things develop.”

“Why the interest?” Caius asked. “She is just another human. Of no particular need to us. Though I am concerned that she knows of our kind.” Aro waved his hand in the air.

“These are special circumstances,” he said. “Just keep a wary eye on things. And tell Felix, Jane and Alec to prepare to fetch Demetri and Cecily.”

“Very well."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies! Still working on the last chapter. Though I’m back in self-quarantine thanks to a new cluster that popped up in my neighborhood in Seoul, so more time to write and post. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Thanks for reading and following!


	15. Hello from the Other Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mara learns more about her father's gift while Demetri learns the extent of what Alessandra is willing to do to get her way.

**Hello from the Other Side**

Embry glanced over at Mara as she shifted in her seat and stared out the window at the trees. She had been moving nearly the entire drive up to Port Gamble, antsy about meeting her father’s family. After several phone calls back and forth with her mother, she had finally tracked down a couple of his cousins who said they knew him when he was younger. She had apparently met them before when she was a child, but she didn’t remember.

“Hey, it’ll be okay. They sounded nice,” he said, his voice light. She looked over at him and sighed, smiling slightly.

“I know, I just… guess I’m nervous. I don’t remember them and there’s no telling if we’ll find anything or if this will be just a bust,” she replied. He reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it and keeping her from continuing to wring them. 

“At the very least, you’ll get to connect with some of your family,” Embry said. “That should be good enough.”

Mara nodded and looked out the window again, not responding.

“Why did your dad lose touch?” Embry asked. Mara shrugged, still watching the trees as they passed by.

“Don’t know. He never said. Suppose because he moved to Seattle and then LA. And then… it was just… too many years passed by without a phone call,” she said. “Guess he was too busy with life. His career. But he always made time for me and Mom. Grams before she died.”

“I suppose I can see that,” Embry said, keeping his eyes on the road as he drove. “Really is beautiful up here.”

“Yea,” Mara murmured. Embry glanced at her, noticing her brow was furrowed.

“Seriously, Mar. Stop worrying. They’ll love you,” he said. “My mother loves you.” Mara blushed slightly as she looked over at him.

“Thank god for that,” she admitted. “I was ridiculously nervous about meeting her the first time… Terrified I’d slip up and say something about the pack or imprinting…”

“You did fine then. You’ll do fine now,” Embry said. Mara just nodded. He slowed down and pulled up a driveway. They crawled down the gravel path, pulling up in front of a cozy, nice cabin nestled in the trees. 

He came to a stop as two older women stepped out onto the front porch, both of them wearing hopeful smiles. Embry turned off the car and turned to Mara.

“You ready for this?” he asked. 

“As ready as I’m ever going to be,” she said, her eyes glued to the two women. She then nodded to herself and got out of the car, Embry following.

“You look just like him,” the first, slightly taller woman said, her long hair pulled back into a low ponytail. Her eyes got a bit misty as she hesitated a moment and then stepped over and enveloped Mara in a hug. The younger woman froze for a moment and then hugged her back. “I’m Lois,” the woman said when she stepped back, but remained holding Mara. “And this is my sister, Tara.” 

Mara looked over at the other woman, her hair down, long and mostly gray. Tara stepped over and hugged Mara.

“You’ve grown up so much since the last time we saw you,” she said softly. “I wish we could have stayed in touch better.”

“Sorry about that,” Mara said after the hug ended and she stepped back to Embry’s side. “This is my boyfriend Embry Call. He’s from La Push.”

The two women studied him a moment, causing him to shift on his feet though he remained smiling.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he said, nodding towards them.

“You two much be tired and cold. Please, come in,” Lois said.

Not long later, they were settled in a bright kitchen, Lois putting down mugs of tea for Embry and Mara before taking a seat next to Tara with her own. She had kept up a steady stream of chatter, though Tara had remained quiet, studying Mara closely.

“So… what brings you to us?” Lois asked, getting to the point.

“I, ah, well… I wanted to know more about my dad when he was younger… before he met Mom,” Mara started. “He told me a lot, of course, but I realized that there was a lot that still I don’t know…”

Lois glanced at Tara, the two sharing a look before fixing their gazes back on Mara. 

“Well… he was only in Port Gamble for a bit. His family moved down to Seattle before he started high school,” Lois said. “Still kept in touch. Until he and your mother moved to L.A., anyway. We followed his career, though.”

“What was he like when he was younger?” Mara asked, leaning on the table. Embry couldn’t help but smile at her, recognizing the look that had come over her face. It was the same one she got every time she did an interview.

Lois and Tara both smiled and chuckled.

“Oh, he was always getting into trouble,” Lois said. “But it was different than the other kids. Others, they got into trouble because there was nothing else to do - or so they thought. Harry, well, he got in trouble trying to help people.”

“Really? How?” Mara pushed. Lois shook her head, still chuckling.

“Always thought things could be better. And I suppose he was right about a lot of things, but folks around here… not always so keen on change,” Lois said. “That’s why they moved to Seattle, I think. Thought he would do better in a bigger city. And we all knew that Port Gamble was too small for Harry Carpenter.”

“He had big dreams,” Tara added, her weathered face warm and gentle as she smiled. “And a good heart. I can see you have the same.” Mara blushed slightly as she looked down at her tea mug. “I can see that you’ve got a lot of your father in you.”

Mara looked back up at her, her eyes wide. Did she know? She wanted to ask right now, but part of her worried that they would think she was crazy. This was the very reason she hadn’t told anyone about what she could do until Embry.

He reached over and placed his hand on her leg, knowing that she was waging an internal war at that moment. 

“You have the gift, too, don’t you?” Tara asked softly. 

Mara’s mouth dropped open as her eyes widened more. They knew.

“I… yes,” she said softly. “Did he tell you?”

Tara looked over at Lois and nodded, then looked back at Mara.

“We always knew that something was different with Harry, though he didn’t tell us until we were all older. When we were kids… he would say things… a neighbor died, and we all thought it was an accident. But Harry, he kept insisting that he had been killed,” Lois said. “Wasn’t much older than 9, I think?”

“But of course, no one would listen to a child,” Tara added. “Everyone else thought he was just making it up. We did too, at the time.” 

“He told us later… that he could feel it in his bones when he was where the accident happened,” Lois said. “Said it smelled different.”

“That’s… that’s what I felt the night he died,” Mara said softly. Sadness came over both women’s faces.

“We read about that,” Lois said. “Came to the funeral, but… there were so many people that we couldn’t seem to get to you and your mother. I knew that he would never kill himself.”

“And we wondered… if perhaps you knew that because you had his gift,” Tara added. “It seems that we were right. I’m so sorry we didn’t reach out to you.”

Mara shook her head, smiling slightly.

“It’s okay. Does anyone else in our family have it?” Mara asked, hoping someone else did. So that she could ask them how to develop it. If there was more that she could do.

“Not that we were aware, but Harry’s father and our grandfather passed on without saying anything,” Tara said. Mara’s face fell. “Harry didn’t really talk about it much as a kid, not until his accident.”

“His accident?” Mara asked, looking up at them with a frown. 

“We were skating on a frozen pond one winter when he was about 18. He came back to visit with his father,” Lois said. “The ice was too thin in a spot and he fell through. We thought he was dead when he was finally pulled out. But apparently fate wasn’t done with him.”

“After that, he changed,” Tara said, a far-off tone coming into her voice. “He… was more serious. Through himself into his work and studies. Though it took another year before he told us what had happened…”

“After the accident?” Mara asked.

“Yes. He told about before - the feeling he got. And then after he nearly drowned, he could… see things. Not just at murder scenes, but anywhere death had happened. Could see what happened,” Lois said.

Mara sat back in her chair, thinking it over. It was all coming together rather quickly in her mind. 

“After a near-death experience… he was able to see,” she murmured. 

“We’re not completely sure that’s what it was,” Lois said quickly, her worry apparent.

“Oh, I wasn’t going to - don’t worry about that,” Mara said, smiling slightly. The woman almost looked even more worried. “So… after that he just… went somewhere and could see what happened when a person died?”

“I believe so, yes,” Tara said. “After that, things just gradually happened over time. Again, we lost touch, so we’re not sure what all he could do before he passed on.” 

“I’m working on that - found some of his journals,” Mara said. “Though they’re mostly about work and family…”

Tara studied her a moment and then leaned across the table, patting Mara’s hand.

“Whatever happens, don’t fight it. It is a gift,” she said, smiling. “It makes you special. Just… use it well.” Mara nodded.

“I will…”

~~~

Mara was silent for the first stretch of the drive back. So much so that Embry was starting to get a bit worried, wondering what she was thinking.

Mara, for her part, was processing everything she had learned from her father’s cousins. That at least some of his family had known about his gift. She wondered why he had never mentioned it to her. Perhaps he hoped that she wouldn’t get it. In a way, that did make sense. She could see how her father might not want her to witness the horrific final moments of a person’s life. 

But more than that, after she had been bitten by Alessandra, she wondered if that constituted as a near-death experience. She had certainly thought she was dying. And she had started turning into a vampire there for a bit. Didn’t they technically count as dead?

Was it enough?

“Mara?” Embry finally asked. She sighed and looked over at him.

“You think what happened… That means I can do more now?” she asked. He frowned to himself.

“Maybe,” he said. “What was it like?” He swallowed hard after that. He hadn’t actually asked her yet - wasn’t sure if he could handle knowing. But he supposed it was time.

Mara was silent a few moments, gathering her thoughts.

“I certainly thought I was dying,” she said. “There was… so much pain. Like fire burning me from the inside out. And then… nothing. I was just floating in a warm sea of nothingness for the longest time. That’s when I saw my memories and all. But then… I thought I could hear you… and that helped bring me out of it…” 

Embry blushed slightly, keeping his eyes fixed on the road.

“Thought you were dying there for a bit too,” he admitted. 

“I think… I need to test it,” Mara said, remaining in business mode.

“Well, technically you are back at work. I’m sure you’ll get the chance soon enough,” Embry said.

“No, I mean… now,” Mara said, turning in her seat to face him. “As soon as we get back to Seattle, take me to one of the murder scenes.”

“It’ll be too late-”

“I don’t care. I need to do this, Embry,” Mara said forcefully. He looked over, seeing the determined look in her eye and then sighed.

“Okay.”

~~~

Mara stopped at the corner, looking down at the ground without turning into the alley. She squeezed Embry’s hand, not sure if she was ready to see two people get ripped apart by vampires. But she had to do this.

She then looked up and took a deep breath, her nose filling with the familiar smell of death. She then walked into the alley, closing her eyes as she stepped slowly, still holding on to Embry. 

Immediately, she saw a flash of something. A man and a woman up against the alley wall, making out.

Then another - Alessandra and another vampire suddenly next to them. She screwed her eyes further shut as more flashes happened. The vampires worked into a frenzy. Blood spraying across the wall and the ground.

She could hear their shrieks of terror and pain.

Mara gasped as her eyes flew open and she fell into Embry, her legs nearly giving out beneath her as a lone tear snaked down her cheek.

“Oh god… it was worse than I thought,” she said softly, her head starting to pound slightly. She looked around, noticing there were still faint traces of blood on the dirty asphalt. She then turned and wrapped her arms around Embry, grasping desperately onto the warmth that he offered.

“You saw it?” he asked, looking down at her. She nodded, her eyes still fixed on the spot on the ground where the two had died. 

“It was a bloodbath,” she said softly.

“Okay, we did what we came here to do, let’s go home,” Embry said firmly. Mara didn’t move at first. 

“What am I supposed to do with this?” she whispered. “What good is this gift if all I see are nightmares?” 

Embry sighed and pulled her closer.

“You can use it to help,” he replied. Mara looked up at him. “You can see what actually happened to these victims. You can use that to find justice.” She just blinked a few times and then nodded.

“Okay…” she said. 

Embry started leading her out of the alley. 

“Come on. We finally have the house to ourselves. Tomorrow is Sunday… let’s just… go home and rest,” he said gently.

“Yea… sounds good… Home...”

~~~

Demetri stood at the back of the villa staring out into the garden, hardly believing that he was seeing it. Alessandra had recreated it down to the last flower. Never had he ever thought that he would come back here. Not after the slaughter that Amun’s coven had carried out when he turned him.

“Lovely, isn’t it?” Alessandra asked. He turned to look at her, frowning. “I loved this place.”

“I had forgotten about it,” Demetri said dryly, turning back to the garden. 

“I suppose you would. You had a much grander afterlife than I did,” Alessandra said, walking up to him. “They actually took you with them. I, well, I was left among the rubble. Imagine how I felt when I woke up, not realizing what I was or what was happening to me.”

“So, you’ve told me… many times,” Demetri said, still not looking at her.

“I thought this would be another chance for us,” Alessandra said. “We were betrothed once.”

“A deal struck between our fathers. I had no say in it, you know that,” he replied. Alessandra frowned, anger starting to contort her features.

“But you said…” 

Demetri sighed and looked at her, his face cold and unfeeling.

“We’ve already been over this many times before, Alessandra. Nothing has changed and now nothing ever will,” he said firmly. “I have found my mate.”

“Ah, yes… the young one,” Alessandra said, walking into the garden in front of him, her hips swaying seductively. “A problem easily fixed.”

“You will not harm her,” Demetri growled. She stopped and turned to face him, now smiling.

“What is it about her? She’s not more beautiful than me. And look what she’s done to you. She’s made you weak. I make you stronger,” she purred. 

“You make me into a monster,” Demetri replied. 

“That’s what we are, is it not?” Alessandra shot back at him. “Creatures forced to live in the shadows! Feeding off others! We are what haunts humans’ nightmares! What I don’t understand is just why you are so keen to give that up. There was a time when we enjoyed each other’s company.”

“She makes me see that I can be better! Do better!” Demetri roared. “ _She_ makes me stronger, not you, Alessandra. You and I, we were never meant to be. But I _was_ meant to be with her!”

Alessandra stared at him a few moments, her nostrils flaring. She then smiled and started laughing. 

“Oh, Demetri…” she said lightly.

“The Volturi will come for you, you know this. They will not let what you did in Seattle slide. Not after everything else that you’ve done,” he warned. “They will make you pay the price for all your indiscretions.”

“Please, they will welcome me… as I am delivering you back to them,” she said. Demetri frowned. “You honestly thought I wasn’t prepared? I offered to bring one of Aro’s most prized possessions back to the fold… as long as I was allowed to come with you. We’re a packaged deal.” 

“They would never accept such terms. They know that Cecily is my mate,” Demetri said, though there was a jolt of fear that ran through him. He knew that Aro didn’t let go of his family so easily.

Would he stoop to killing Cecily just to keep him forever among their ranks? Not if he knew what she could do. But Cecily’s gift was a double-edged sword. Yes, if Aro knew of it, it would save her. At the same time, it would condemn her to a life serving the Volturi. And Cecily would never agree to that.

“Of course, it helps that I have a trump card,” Alessandra continued. Demetri looked to her, meeting her eyes. “That little human that the mutts were so keen to protect.” Demetri’s eyes widened. “Well, suppose she’s not human anymore.” 

“What are you talking about?” Demetri asked, another sliver of fear running through him. What did Mara have to do with this? Surely, she didn’t know what the human woman could do. Alessandra giggled. 

“Really, you have lost your touch, Demetri. I’m disappointed. You honestly thought there was no way I would figure out her little… peculiarity. It will be interesting to see how it manifests once the turn is complete,” she said. “Definitely sounds like something the Volturi would be curious about, at least.”

“That’s why you turned her,” Demetri stated, keeping a calm exterior, though anger was coursing through him. While he enjoyed the life he lived as a vampire - much more than he had being a human - he now understood the importance it was to choose. Not everyone wanted this life. 

Mara, as short a time as he had known her, would not choose this life for herself. Not being so close to the wolves. 

“I always have something up my sleeve,” Alessandra replied, still grinning brightly. 

Demetri stared at her, knowing that he needed to end this now. End her. And then hurry back to Seattle so that he could help Mara. She would need to be hidden from the Volturi until they knew she would be safe. 

A snarl left his lips as he narrowed his eyes at her, clenching his fists as his side. Alessandra was strong, yes. But he had been trained by the Volturi. She would be no match for him alone.

He lunged for her, using the element of surprise to his advantage as he tackled her to the ground. He was about to snap at her when she laughed loudly. For a moment, he was stunned.

“I think that you’ll find yourself rather outnumbered,” she said, her crimson eyes dancing. Demetri looked up, noticing the many vampires now appearing around the garden. 

“I’d like to introduce you to my coven, Demetri…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many discoveries in this chapter… hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> Thanks for reading and following!


	16. Too Late to Apologize

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Cullens rescue Demetri, they realize this fight is far from over. And once more, Mara are the wolves are drawn into it.

**Too Late to Apologize**

Cecily’s eyes widened as she came to a stop, watching as Demetri launched himself onto another vampire, while a third started to jump for him. There were a couple of dead vampires on the ground, in the background, Alessandra watching with an amused look on her face. 

There were far too many for Demetri to fight off on his own. But that was why they were here, wasn’t it? To rescue him and kill Alessandra.

“There’s too many,” Alice said, taking in the fight.

“Speak for yourself,” Emmett replied with a grin.

“Get Demetri and then let's get the hell out of here. That’s the plan,” Rosalie said, her eyes fixed on the fight. Cecily was watching Alessandra, who turned to meet her eyes.

“Ah look, the little mate has come to join us,” she called out. “Just in time.”

Demetri stopped fighting, his eyes turning to Cecily as they widened. 

“Get out of here, Cess!” he shouted as he started towards her but was then caught up by two vampires taking advantage of his distraction. Cecily narrowed her eyes at Alessandra. 

She was going to kill her with her own two hands. 

Without a word, the Cullens launched into the fray. While the others worked to free Demetri, Cecily dodged around vampires, going for Alessandra, remembering that Demetri said they needed to kill her before the Volturi got involved. She couldn’t help but think it was sound advice and she would enjoy ending this woman who was fucking around with her family and her mate.

But Alessandra was thousands of years older and faster. Much more accustomed to fighting than Cecily, even though Demetri had been working with her a lot over the past few years. But it was frustrating. Every time Cecily moved towards her, she changed direction, flinting around the garden and evading her in annoying fashion.

“Going to have to do better than that!” Alessandra sang out, clearly enjoying playing cat and mouse with her. Cecily growled and doubled down on her efforts to try and catch up to her.

“Cess! Come on!” Alice shouted. Cecily stopped, looking over to see that she and Rosalie had Demetri while the others were fighting off Alessandra’s coven in an attempt to make a getaway. Cecily looked back after at the woman, wanting more than anything to continue going after her. But she knew they were outnumbered and needed to get out while they had the chance. So, she changed her course, moving over to help the others.

As they ran from the villa, she hoped they would get to the jet and out of here in time.

~~~

As the plane soared up into the sky, Cecily breathed a sigh of relief as she fell into the chair next to Demetri and began to assess him. He was fine, of course. But more than anything, she just wanted to touch him to know that he was really there next to her. 

It had been a mad chase back to the plane, but they took off before any of Alessandra’s coven could get close, having told the pilot to wait in the cockpit and keep the plane ready to take off as soon as they were inside. 

“I was so worried,” she said as Demetri took her hand and kissed the inside of her palm. “I thought she would kill you…”

“She wouldn’t have,” he replied, meeting her eyes. “How did you know where I was?”

“Mara. She somehow got some of Alessandra’s memories. Saw the villa and we figured out where it was from there. And well, Lila, the vampire that Alessandra made, she gave more information that helped as well,” Cecily said. 

“She… but-”

“We stopped her from turning,” Alice said. “Lila was able to get out the venom.” Demetri seemed relieved. But just as suddenly, he was on edge again.

“We should have killed Alessandra. Her and her coven,” he said, his face turning stormy.

“Trust me, I wanted to,” Cecily said. “But we figured it was more important to get you back in one piece. There were too many-”

“They will follow us,” he said. “She has made a deal with the Volturi. We must go back now and end it. What’s more, she knows about Mara… she will tell the Volturi if she has not yet done so.”

“What?” Cecily asked, getting a sinking feeling in her stomach.

“She made a deal with them - she would deliver me back to them and in exchange, they would allow her to join. I do not dare think that Aro would go through with such a deal. He will kill her once she is in his grasp,” he said. “But as such, she still believes that he will follow through. She will not stop until she has me again. And she will use Mara to make sure that she gains her freedom if they should go back on their word.”

“And we’re leading her right back to Seattle,” Cecily said dully. She looked over at the others. “Where should we go? I mean, maybe Demetri and I… we could disappear. Go off on our own. Lead them off.”

“There’s too many for you to fight them on your own,” Rosalie said. “You need backup.”

“But I don’t want to draw you guys into this, especially if the Volturi are involved,” Cecily said. “You’ve been trying to stay off their radar for so long-”

“We’ve never been off their radar,” Alice said, smiling at her. “And we’re family. We take care of each other. You’ll need us.” Cecily nodded. She knew that they wouldn’t go for letting her and Demetri run off on their own. Not with the size of Alessandra’s coven, even after they killed a few at the villa.

“So, what do we do?” Cecily asked.

“We lead them somewhere far from humans and we wait,” Demetri said stoically. Cecily turned to look at him. “And then we end this.”

“Preferably with some reinforcements,” Emmett said. “We should tell the wolves.”

“What makes you think they’ll help?” Demetri asked. 

“They’ll want the chance to kill some vampires, trust me,” Emmett said with a chuckle. “And if Mara is somehow wrapped up in this, then they’ll want to protect one of their own. They’ll probably be angry if we don’t tell them.” 

Demetri nodded and looked over at Cecily, cupping her cheek gently.

“Then let’s end this on our terms.”

~~~

Mara laughed as she held onto her mug of tea, looking around Emily and Sam’s living room at the packs gathered there. After what happened after the visit to Port Gamble, she let Embry talk her into taking more time off work - something she had never done before - and needing to get out of the house a bit, they decided a visit to La Push was in order.

Embry had been eager to see his mother, so after spending a few hours at his old house they then made their way over to visit the others. With the threat in Seattle passed, the packs seemed lighter and happier. Mara couldn’t blame them. It felt like life was finally settling into something normal. Once she got back to work, it would be even better.

She hadn’t attempted to use her gift again, not wanting to relive another death. But she knew that eventually she would have to get over herself. That was, after all, the whole reason she had been given it. But it didn’t mean that she needed to go seeking it out.

“So how did Embry convince you to play hookie?” Paul asked, turning the conversation back to Mara. She smiled and glanced over at her boyfriend as he placed a hand on her thigh.

“Figured I could use a break after everything. Honestly, I’m not sure why it took me so long to finally use vacation days. Richard didn’t even argue with me,” she said, looking back at him. “And I had a ton built up.”

“Hope you’re putting it to good use,” Paul replied, his eyes twinkling. Mara’s eyes widened slightly as a light blush came over her face.

“Shut up, Paul,” Embry warned, though he was smiling as well. 

“All I’m saying is, Emily and Sam are the only ones with a pup on the way. Gotta play catchup,” Paul said.

“Excuse me, you and Rachel have been together far longer,” Mara said.

“Please don’t continue that strain of conversation,” Jacob said, grimacing. 

“Why? We’re all adults here, little brother,” Rachel said, reaching over to ruffle his hair, though he managed to dodge it as more laughter rang out through the room. 

“Yea, but still not ready to be an uncle yet,” Jacob shot back, frowning at her and then glaring at Paul.

“At some point, you are going to have to get used to this,” Paul said as he slid his arm around Rachel’s waist. “We’ve imprinted. Can’t change that.”

“Still don’t understand that,” Jacob grumbled.

“Someone’s still a bit testy without Nessie around,” Seth sang. Jacob just shot a glare across the room at him.

“She’s coming to visit in a couple weekends,” he said. “After she’s settled into the new semester.”

“So, I finally get to meet the mysterious Nessie,” Mara said, brightening. She had heard so many stories about her that in a way she felt like she already knew her. “Figure it’s about time.”

“You’ll like her,” Embry said, looking down at Mara as he moved his arm to drape over her shoulders. 

“Gross. Too many imprinted couples,” Seth said, making a face as he stood and started towards the kitchen to get something else to drink.

“Your time will come,” Emily said as she walked into the living room with another plate of cookies. “Just ask Embry - it’ll happen when it’s meant to.” Embry was still gazing down at Mara.

“Just gotta be patient,” he said before pecking her on the lips. Though they had been together for months now, Mara was still a bit shy with the PDA in front of all of the packs, but she supposed it was just another thing she would eventually get used to. Wasn’t like they were the only couple or even the worst when it came to showing affection.

Suddenly, every wolf in the room was on edge, looking towards the front door of the house. Mara sat up, wondering just what it was they were sensing. Or rather, smelling was probably more like it.

“The Cullens,” Paul said, looking to Jacob, who was already on his feet. “Think they’ve finally killed the bloodsucker?”

“Suppose we’ll find out,” Jacob said with a sigh.

Mara blinked and the next thing she knew, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, Cecily and Demetri were standing in the living room, grim looks on their faces. They brought with them an air of foreboding that had Mara’s stomach sinking. It was clear that whatever was going on with Alessandra, it wasn’t over.

“What happened?” Jacob asked as Sam quickly moved to stand next to him.

“We got away from her, but she’s created a coven. It’s big,” Emmett said.

“And they’re coming here,” Alice said.

“So now you need our help,” Sam said, frowning. “Why would you lead them back here?”

“Alessandra knows about Mara and will tell the Volturi if she hasn’t already,” Demetri said. “Even if we did lead them elsewhere, Mara isn’t safe.”

Silence fell over the room as Mara thought her heart might stop. Every pair of eyes turned to look at her. This was supposed to be over, or so they had all thought. That the Cullens would go after Alessandra and kill her. Why hadn’t they done that? Just how big was this coven?

“Why weren’t you able to take care of her?” Jacob growled, turning to look back at the vampires. “Isn’t that what you were supposed to do?”

“None of us expected she had more vampires in Greece,” Demetri said, stepping forward. “She’s apparently figured out how to keep a coven together and it caught us off guard.”

“And you’re supposed to be Volturi,” Jacob said, glaring at him.

“Look, even I didn’t see this coming,” Alice said evenly, stepping in between Jacob and Demetri. “Regardless, they are coming here, and they’ll be here soon. We need to lead them as far away from humans as we can. And it’s going to take all of us if we’re going to fight them off.” She looked over at Mara, a sympathetic look coming over her face. “We’ve called the others and they are on their way.”

“Seth, I want you to stay and look out for Mara and the others,” Jacob said. A scowl came over his face. “Leah will stay with you just in case.”

“We need as many as we can,” Demetri said urgently. “And most definitely all of your best fighters.”

“Yea, and we need to make sure that they don’t decide to use the fight as a distraction to come after Mara,” Embry said, starting to get riled up. Demetri looked over at him, his face stern. He started to open his mouth to speak but stopped as Cecily put her hand on his arm.

“It’ll be okay,” she said softly. “We should have enough with everyone else. Besides, we really just need to kill Alessandra and then the others will hopefully stop.” He looked at her and then sighed, looking back to Jacob. He nodded. 

“Alright then, let’s go,” Jacob said, looking around the room. 

“I know where we should lead them,” Sam said, looking to the Cullens and then around the room. “Jared, go alert the others and tell them we leave now.” Jared stood and nodded, then headed out of the house. 

Mara rushed over to Embry, throwing her arms around him.

“Don’t get yourself killed,” she said.

“I don’t plan on it,” he replied, though it didn’t really reassure her. She pulled away, looking up into his eyes.

“I’m serious. Be careful and do whatever you can to make sure you come back to me,” she urged. He smiled and kissed her, then held her close a few more moments. 

“I’ll come back,” he said softly before letting go and stepping away. 

Mara moved to stand on the front porch with Emily, watching as they ran off throughout the town, some to gather the other wolves that weren’t present, others to inform the tribe elders of what was going on. And still others stood in a group with the Cullens, listening as Sam spoke, pointing off into the forest.

“Is this what it’s always going to be like?” Mara asked, her eyes fixed on Embry. “Watching them go off to do something dangerous and then wait here in the hopes they come back?”

“It’s not always like this,” Emily said soothingly. “In fact, before that rogue vampire, it had gotten pretty quiet around here.” She placed a comforting hand on Mara’s arm, causing the younger woman to look over at her. “It’ll be okay.” 

Mara turned to look back at the group, now seeing them walk away as Seth and Leah discussed their game plan. 

“God, I hope so…”

~~~

Cecily stood silently, glancing every so often at Demetri as they stood in a large group going over a plan. Sam had led them all to a large clearing far from Forks and La Push in the wilderness. It was a good place for a fight, she had to admit, and from how easily everyone else got there, she assumed they must have used it for that purpose before. 

Sam looked over at Alice, waiting for something.

“We have about 10 minutes,” she said. He nodded and looked around, making eye contact with the wolves. They all moved to the trees so they could shift. Cecily took the moment of distraction and grabbed Demetri’s arm, pulling him away from the others.

“I’m so sorry,” he said before she could speak. “I should have told you about Alessandra before now.” Cecily just stared at him. “We were… I told you that I had been betrothed when I was human. Alessandra was my intended.” Cecily’s eyes widened. “When Amun slaughtered my friends and family, I assumed that she had also died. It was many years later that I discovered she had been turned - they had left her behind, thinking her dead. I was with the Volturi by this point.”

Cecily was speechless. She knew that Demetri and Alessandra had history, but she hadn’t expected it to be this. 

“For a time, we did reconnect. And she wanted to join me in the Volturi. She had truly loved me before, or at the least had thought it was love. For me, it was merely a transaction between our two families,” he said. “But she was too volatile. The Volturi would not accept her and as such, I turned my back on her.” 

He looked around the large clearing, his expression unreadable.

“This is all my fault,” he said. 

“Because you dumped her?” Cecily asked incredulously. “Seriously, Demetri, you can’t blame yourself that your ex went off the deep end because she couldn’t handle a breakup that happened centuries ago.” He turned to look back at her.

“Because I did not speak on her behalf,” he said. “I could have attempted to sway them, but my allegiance to the Volturi was much stronger than any bond I had ever had with her.”

Cecily grabbed his face, pulling him closer to her.

“She was never going to fit in with them. If they hadn’t accepted her then, they never would,” she said firmly. “You basically said as much earlier. They won’t honor the agreement she made with them. So whatever centuries-long hissy fit she’s been throwing, that is not on you and I doubt anything you could have done would have changed that.”

He didn’t speak, just stared into her eyes. Cecily took a deep breath, guessing as to what he was actually worrying about.

“This changes nothing about how I feel about you,” she said. “I’m not worried about you ever betraying me or going against our bond. I mean, it’s pretty much impossible, isn’t it? Isn’t that what this whole mate thing is about? Unbreakable bond and all?”

Demetri leaned his forehead against hers, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer.

“I mean, yea, sure. Would have been nice to know about Alessandra before all this happened, but I get it,” Cecily continued softly. “You have a much longer personal history to work through telling me about…”

“And I assure you, I never meant to keep it from you. Not intentionally. I never really thought that she would attempt something again, not if word got out that I had a mate,” he said softly, staring into her eyes. “But I vow utter and complete openness from here on.” Cecily smiled slightly.

“Yea, after this over, we’re going somewhere on our own and we’re not coming back until you tell me everything,” she joked. Demetri’s familiar smirk filled his face, causing more of her worry to dissipate.

“Everything?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Cecily rolled her eyes and she pulled away from him slightly.

“Okay, maybe not everything. I don’t need all the detai-”

Demetri cut her off with a powerful kiss, his hands tightly gripping her as though he worried she would fly away if he let go. Cecily didn’t fight against him, instead pulling him closer as well. While she wanted to believe that everything would go according to plan - that this would be over in a few minutes - she couldn’t help the sliver of fear in her unbeating heart. 

They didn’t know the full extent of Alessandra’s coven. Sure, they had seen a lot at the villa, but there was always a chance she had more. And with as long as it had taken them to get back to Washington, she worried it was far more than they were anticipating.

More than that, she worried that this would be the last time Demetri held her in his arms. That it was the last time she would see some of her friends and family. The others had been through this before, but she hadn’t. And part of her was terrified because of that. 

“I promise,” Demetri breathed after he had pulled away from this. “We will survive this and afterwards, a very long vacation.” She nodded, unable to speak for a moment. She finally swallowed.

“I’m going to hold you to that,” she replied.

“They’re nearly here!” someone shouted getting their attention. Both looked around the clearing, seeing that all the wolves had shifted, and everyone was taking up fighting stances, carefully watching the trees that surrounded them.

“Guess it’s time to do this…”


	17. Love is a Battlefield - Literally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mara figures out more that she can do with her gift, but is it too late to help?

**Love is a Battlefield - Literally**

Mara finally collapsed in a chair after pacing around the living room for what felt like hours, though really hadn’t been that long. Emily was in the kitchen making more tea while Rachel and Jared’s fiance Kimmie sat silently on the sofa. 

“It’ll be fine, you know. They’ve done this before,” Rachel said, looking over to Mara. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

“I know, just… I don’t like sitting and waiting,” she said, sitting up in the chair and reaching for her bag. She dug around inside and then pulled out another of her father’s journals. She had thrown it in at the last second, figuring she could probably get some reading in on the drive from Seattle but had nearly forgotten she’d even brought it.

Now was probably as good as time as any to get some reading in. Outside of distracting her from the fact her boyfriend was now likely locked in a battle to the death with a large coven of vampires, she might be able to learn something more about what she could do with her father’s gift. 

More than anything, she wanted to get over the feeling of helplessness that had come over her. Part of her knew it was silly. But she couldn’t help but wish there was something she could do. That she had gotten the shapeshifter gene or that her gift was more helpful.

Or, heaven forbid, that she had been turned.

Mara reached up, her fingers grazing the scar left on her neck from Alessandra’s bite. While she was grateful Lila had been able to stop it, she couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if she hadn’t. Right now, she would be a vampire. With all the super strength and speed necessary to fight. The others told her that newborns were really powerful, which is why they were such a threat. 

Her eyes turned towards the windows, a frown appearing as she looked out to the trees, wondering if she would have been able to help more as a vampire.

“Everything okay?”

Mara turned to look over as Emily walked in with a tray of mugs. Rachel hopped up to her feet, taking it from the very pregnant woman. 

“Really, you should be sitting down, Em. You’re about to pop,” Rachel chided as she put the tray on the table and Emily moved to sit next to her on the couch, propping her feet up. But her dark eyes were still trained on Mara.

“I’m fine,” Mara said quickly, dropping her hand to her lap as she looked down at the journal.

“And I can tell when you’re lying,” Emily replied. Mara looked up at her, eyes wide, but saw the small smile on her face. She sighed.

“Just… wish there was something more I could do,” she admitted. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that I’m not a vampire, but can’t help thinking I’d be a lot more help like that than I am now.” 

“You wish you had become one of them?” Kimmie asked. Mara looked up, seeing the look of disgust on her face. Rachel looked completely stunned, though Emily looked more worried than anything.

Mara huffed as she pushed out of the chair, the journal falling to the floor as she began pacing again.

“No, I mean… no. But… if it could help. If it meant that I wasn’t sitting here doing nothing while the man I love is out there risking his life to protect me, then maybe?” she said. “God, what good is having a _gift_ if it’s not even helpful?”

“But it _is_ helpful,” Emily said. Mara stopped pacing and looked over at her. “Maybe not in this exact situation, but it is helpful. You can bring people peace through it.” Mara just blinked. “All of us, we all have roles to play in life. Sometimes we are meant to step up and take the lead, and sometimes we have to stay behind. Right now what’s most important is that we’re here. That _you’re_ here. If those other vampires get you or if the Volturi finds you, that’s good for no one.” Mara still didn’t respond. “And that’s why they’re out there fighting. They’re fighting to protect you. To protect all of us.” 

Mara sighed.

“I know, I know. Just… can’t blame me for wishing there was more that I could do,” she said. Emily smiled. 

“They’ve fought like this before. They know what they’re doing. It’ll turn out okay, trust me,” she said. And Mara did feel slightly more comforted by her words. 

“Sorry. I’m still getting used to… all this,” Mara said, offering her an apologetic smile. 

“It’s okay. We’re all a bit stressed out right now,” Emily said. Sighing, Mara walked over and picked up the journal off the ground and settled back in the chair. She flipped through it, but stopped, noticing that the binding at the back had come slightly undone when it fell to the ground.

Brow furrowed, she picked at the paper, finding it pulled away from the book cover rather easily. What’s more, there was something tucked inside. She could hear Emily and the others start up a conversation, but she wasn’t paying attention as she pulled out an envelope, her eyes widening when she saw her name written on the front in her father’s handwriting. 

Heart pounding, she ripped it open and pulled out the paper, unfolding it and wondering how she had missed this. Her eyes began tearing up. It was dated the day before he died.

_Dear Mars Bar,  
_ _If you’re reading this, it means that I’m no longer here. And while I had hoped to always be there with you, sometimes life doesn’t work out the way we planned it. I’m writing this in case I don’t get the chance to talk to you about it in person..._

Mara stopped reading as her vision became too blurry to continue. She closed her eyes and her hand flew to her mouth.

“Mara?” Emily asked. Mara looked up at her, finding all three women looking at her with worried looks.

“It’s okay. It’s just… I found a letter from my father,” she said, catching her breath as she looked back down at it quickly scanning through the first few lines. “He wasn’t sure if I had his gift, but wanted to make sure he left something for me about it just… in case…”

She stopped speaking a few moments as she struggled to regain control of herself. She took a deep, shuddery breath and then looked back down, starting up where she left off. He wrote about how he first felt the gift as a child, but kept it to himself out of worry about what others would think. Then the accident in the pond. How it changed him. How he could actually see what happened to the dead. 

Her heart nearly stopped when she came to the paragraph after that.

_I tell you all this because I never had the chance to learn about this gift from my father or grandfather - they had passed on before I grew the courage to speak about it with them. And I don’t want that for you, should you inherit it as well. I promise that I will be at your side every step of the way once you are old enough to understand the importance of what we can do. I still don’t understand just how it develops or why, though my father and grandfather had passed down stories of ancestors who had this same gift._

_It’s important to know those stories, which I’ve also written about in my journals. Some of them were even able to bring forth the spirits of the dead - speak to them - though it’s something I’ve yet to do myself._

Mara dropped the letter down onto her lap, her tears now drying as that last bit of information sunk in. Some of them could actually communicate with the dead. Bring them forth, as he said. She looked back down at the journal, quickly flipping through it as she searched for these stories that he had supposedly written down. The ones about their ancestors. 

All thoughts of the battle that was likely raging somewhere far off fled from her mind. 

“Mara?”

“Shh,” she hissed, her eyes moving quickly over the pages as she flipped through them. She then stopped, finding the story she wanted. She was silent as she quickly read through it. She then looked up, finding Emily, Rachel and Kim all staring at her, even more concerned than before. “Okay, I’m going to try something, but try not to flip out too much. I need to concentrate.” They just nodded in silent agreement.

Mara put the journal and letter aside, rolling her shoulders as she took deep breaths, willing herself to relax. She had no idea if this was going to work, but it was at least worth a try.

Closing her eyes, she took slow, deep breaths in and out, emptying out her mind as much as she could. She pictured her father in her mind, standing in the living room before her. She could clearly see his tall frame, the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled. His dark hair that was starting to turn gray around his temples. His scent filled her nose - leather and damp moss from the woods. She could feel the warmth of his embrace.

“Dad,” she said softly. “I need to see you…”

She heard a soft gasp and nearly lost sight of her father, but managed to grab hold of it, keeping the picture of him in her mind.

She then opened her eyes and stared at the living room in front of her as joy ran through her.

“Hi, Mars Bar,” her father said softly. Mara’s hands flew to her mouth a moment and then she launched out of her chair and ran towards him. “Afraid that’s not really possible,” he said, stopping her before she reached him. She stopped as he held his hand out and she tried to touch it, but instead her fingers passed through his. She looked up at him, her eyes already filling with tears again. “I knew you’d figure it out.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me you had the gift? That I might have it?” she asked softly. There were a lot of things she wanted to say to him, to talk about, but for some reason that was the first thing that came out of her mouth. He smiled sadly at her.

“I wasn’t sure if you had it,” he replied. “And I didn’t want to scare you. When the time was right, I planned to sit down and talk to you about it.”

“Did Mom know?” she asked. He shook his head.

“I never told her. Wasn’t sure that she would understand,” he said. Mara nodded and then smiled brightly.

“Can I… can I do this any time that I want?” she asked. He nodded. 

“Though I’m not sure how much of a mental strain it will be for you,” he said. “Probably best to take it a bit at a time.” She nodded quickly. “God, I miss you, Mara.”

“I miss you too, Daddy,” she said, barely able to control her tears. 

“I’m so sorry that I was taken from you the way I was. I did everything I could to keep you and your mother safe from my work,” he continued, a remorseful look coming over his face. “But at the same time, I had a duty to stop injustice when I saw it happening.”

“I know. I understand,” Mara said. “Mom does too. We don’t blame you.” 

“There is so much I want to talk to you about… show you,” he said. “But more than anything, I want you to know that I am proud of you. You’ve grown into a strong woman and I know that you can handle this gift and everything it entails.” Mara nodded solemnly. “And I’m always with you, Mars Bar.” 

“I love you, Dad,” she whispered, still smiling even though the tears were pouring down her cheeks. 

“Holy shit!”

Mara jumped and looked over, seeing Seth standing in the living room, his eyes wide in shock as he stared.

“Is that a…”

Mara looked back, finding that her father had disappeared. Seth walking in had distracted her and she lost the connection with him. Groaning in frustration, she started to close her eyes to bring him back, but a sharp pain in her head started up. She winced before opening her eyes. 

“Emily, do you have any pain killers?” she asked, rubbing her forehead.

“Yes, in the kitchen,” Emily said. Rachel hopped up before the pregnant woman could move, already set on getting them. Mara walked over and sat back down in the chair, stunned. 

She had brought her father’s spirit back. Talked to him. And she could do it whenever she wanted. A delirious grin filled her face despite the pain. 

“How did you… what was that?” Seth asked. “You can do that?”

“Apparently so,” Mara said, smiling over at him. She then took in the strained look on his face, noting that his presence meant something was wrong. Dread began to fill her as Rachel rushed back into the room with a couple of pills in her hand and a glass of water. “What’s going on?”

“Things aren’t going well. Jacob wants us to move somewhere safer,” he said. All three women looked at each other and then back at Seth. 

“How bad is it?” Mara asked.

“No one’s died, but… it’s not good,” he admitted. Mara took the pills and stared down at the journal. She was struggling to fight off the overwhelming feeling that they were going to lose. They couldn’t. But it wasn’t like there was anything that she could do to help.

Or was there?

Mara looked back up at Seth, her eyes wide as an idea began forming in her mind. It was crazy. And there was no guarantee that it would work or that she would be able to make it last all that long. But it might be enough to help turn the tide.

She put the glass down and stood.

“Take me to where they are,” she said. 

“What?! No! I’m supposed to make sure that you guys stay somewhere safe!” Seth shouted.

“Either you take me or I figure out how to get there on my own,” Mara said. “I’ve got a plan.”

“What? Are you planning to conjure up a bunch of ghosts and scare the shit out of them?” he asked. 

“Just, trust me… Please...”

~~~

Embry yanked his head to the side, the vampire’s arm that was in his jaws, ripping from his body. Before he could react, Embry spit it out and went for his head then made sure the bloodsucker wouldn’t be getting back up anytime soon. 

He then surveyed the clearing, seeing all of his brothers locked in their own battles along with the Cullens. For a moment, he felt a bit of relief. When Alessandra and her coven had finally appeared, there were far more vampires than they were expecting and he wondered just how it was they had been able to move across the world so quickly without being detected.

More than that, he worried how long before the Volturi came following. There was no way they hadn’t heard about this. At least Mara was far away from here and safe. 

_Embry, watch out!_

Embry turned to look just in time to see another vampire leaping at him, arms out. He pivoted out of the way just before the woman could wrap her arounds around his neck. He snarled at her as she quickly spun around and lunged for him again. It was a rapid back and forth. The vampire coming towards him, Embry moving out of the way and then attempting to catch her in his jaws, but not being able to snatch her. While not newborns, these vampires were obviously trained in combat and proving to be hard to beat down. 

It had been a rough back and forth, but at the moment, he thought perhaps they were getting ahead. Taking the upperhand. 

_SHIT! HELP HERE, PLEASE!?_

Embry wanted to run over to help Quil, but the vampire had just launched towards him and he barely had time to move, much less make a decision on whether to help or not as he pivoted again. This time he managed to latch on to the woman, clamping down on her midsection until she was lying in two pieces on the ground. Only then did he turn to see Paul bounding over to help Quil with the two vampires that he had been squaring off against. Embry started towards them, but then a howl of pain left his snout as he felt strong arms around his middle, squeezing. He turned every way that he could, trying to reach the vampire before it broke his spine. In the process he got glimpses of the others and it wasn’t looking good.

He finally managed to buck the bloodsucker off and was about to pounce on them when he got a hint of lavender in the air. Every hair on his body stood on end as he forgot the vampire and scanned the trees around them.

A howl left his throat.

_SHIT! MARA’S HERE!_

~~~

“Are you sure you can do this?” Seth asked, his eyes fixed on the scene before them. For a moment, Mara was frozen in fear. It was clear that they were losing. If that wasn’t motivation to get this right, then she didn’t know what was. But she needed to act now if she was going to do this.

She tore her eyes away from the wolves, not sure she wanted to know if Embry was one of the ones on the ground or still fighting. She heard a howl echo out across the clearing and in her heart, she knew it was him.

But rather than take a small joy in the fact that he was still alive, she kept searching the field, her eyes finally falling on the person she had been looking for. She then closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She didn’t know if it would work. Or if it did, what sort of repercussions she might face. There was a very good chance that either way she’d end up seriously hurt or possibly dead. 

But she had to do something.

~~~

Cecily ripped the head off another vampire and quickly looked around, searching for Demetri. She had tried to stay near him, but as soon as Alessandra had shown up, he had launched into an epic duel with her, intent on killing her quickly in the hopes it might cause the others to stand down.

But it either hadn’t worked or he hadn’t accomplished it yet as the fighting still raged on around her. 

Finally, she saw a flash of long, brown hair and zeroed in on it. Narrowing her eyes, she started after Alessandra. As she sprinted towards her, she watched as Demetri flew through the air, hitting the ground with hard thud. Immediately, he was back on his feet. Cecily narrowed her eyes, focusing on Alessandra as she stood laughing. 

Perhaps if Cecily could get close enough, get Alessandra to look into her eyes, she could convince her to stop all this. Hell, she would probably even kill herself if Cecily told her to. She just needed to get close. 

Cecily jumped through the air, intending to tackle Alessandra to the ground, but the older vampire turned, seeing her approach. And before Cecily knew what had happened, she had come to an abrupt stop, Alessandra’s hand around her neck. Had she been human, the whiplash alone would have likely killed her.

“CECILY!” Demetri shouted.

“Ah, ah. Looks like I get to finally take care of this pesky little problem,” Alessandra said, her eyes fixed on Demetri. He took a step towards her, but Alessandra tightened her grip and Cecily swore she heard her skin cracking. “One step closer and I will kill her.” 

Demetri froze in horror. Cecily struggled, trying to claw Alessandra’s hands from her neck, but it was to no avail. She had her lifted off the ground so all she could do was attempt to scratch her as her feet kicked wildly at air. 

“Should have stayed with me,” Alessandra said, a cruel smile filling her face. Cecily turned her eyes back to the vampire, praying that she would look at her. She wasn’t sure if she could make her gift work without the ability to speak, but she would at least try. 

“Don’t hurt her. I’ll come willingly if you let her go,” Demetri called out.

“Won’t work this time,” Alessandra said, tightening her grip even more. Cecily squeezed her eyes shut as she felt more of her neck beginning to crack. 

She couldn’t help but think right now would be a good time for a miracle if ever there was one. 

As if someone somewhere heard her prayers, she felt Alessandra’s grip loosen slightly. Cecily’s eyes flew open as she looked down at her, finding Alessandra’s red eyes opened wide as she looked around frantically.

Cecily followed her view, wondering what was happening. The sounds of fighting quickly died down as well. 

All around the group, pale ghostly figures stood watching them, not moving, not making any sounds. 

“What… who's doing that?” Alessandra shouted. Cecily looked over at Demetri, though he seemed just as stunned by the figures’ appearance as Alessandra did. 

Taking advantage of her opening, Cecily swung her legs back and landed a strong kick to Alessandra’s stomach, causing the vampire to let go of her. She tumbled to the ground, but jumped to her feet quickly and pounced on Alessandra before she could counter her, shoving her shoulders into the ground.

“Listen to me - you will stop this,” Cecily hissed as Alessandra’s red eyes met her own. They widened slightly and then glazed over.

“STOP!” Alessandra shouted. 

“Good. I’m going to get up, but you aren’t going to fight me,” Cecily said. Alessandra nodded. Cecily then stood up, making sure that she kept eye contact with her. “You want to do the honors?”

“How about together?” Demetri said, now at her side. Cecily nodded, still glaring at Alessandra who stood dumbly looking at them. After everything, it seemed almost too easy, but Cecily wasn’t about to lose their chance. 

“Last time you underestimate me,” Cecily said before she and Demetri grabbed hold of both her arms and then wrenched her body apart. Before she could attempt to pull herself back together, Demetri pulled a lighter out of his pocket and tossed it on her body, the two of them staring at it as it quickly caught fire. 

Only then did Cecily look over at him, still breathing heavily though she wasn’t tired or out of breath. 

“It’s over,” she said. He smiled and nodded at her before quickly pulling her into a fierce hug.

“It is,” he whispered. 

“MARA!”

Cecily pushed away from him, whipping her head around to follow Embry’s voice. She finally saw him running naked across the clearing towards the treeline. At the edge was Seth, who was bent over a figure lying on the ground.

“Holy shit…” she muttered, starting towards them.

“Cess… we got bigger problems,” Alice called out. Cecily stopped and looked over at her. “They’re almost here…”

Cecily froze, not needing to ask who.

The Volturi were coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know! I’m sorry! But I haven’t abandoned this one! Just need to finish up Chapter 20. Got distracted by a LOTR fanfic…
> 
> Thanks for reading and following!


	18. On a Knife's Edge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle is won... but is it over?

**On a Knife’s Edge**

“Mara? Mara!”

Mara groaned, her head pounding in a way that made her think she had just been hit with several cinder blocks. Or a train. She was fairly sure either would hurt mildly lesser than what she was feeling right now.

She opened her eyes, finding Embry’s worried face filling her sight.

“Did we win?” she asked. He frowned and rolled his eyes, looking away and then back at her.

“What the hell were you thinking coming here?” he asked.

“But I helped, didn’t I?” Mara pushed, though she grimaced. Just talking made her head feel worse.

“Christ, you’re bleeding,” he said. Mara lifted her hand to her face, feeling the small bit of blood coming from her nose. She pulled her hand back and stared at it a moment, vaguing registering Embry telling Seth to shift and get the others to stand guard around them.

Even though the fight was over, there were still a rather large amount of vampires around, she suddenly remembered. Embry gently lifted Mara up off the ground as she attempted to wipe her nose.

“But we did win,” she said, looking up at him.

“Yea, we did,” he said. He started walking towards the other wolves, though kept glancing down at her. “Did you… was that you?”

She smiled weakly and nodded.

“It worked. Thank god,” she said.

“How… what the hell was that?” he asked. Before she could answer, Edward was running up to them, a concerned look on his face. Mara looked around, taking stock of who was still there. Whoever was left in Alessandra’s coven had run off once the fighting stopped, it appeared. As it was, only the packs and Cullens remained in the clearing.

“The Volturi are nearly here. You need to get Mara as far away as you can. Now,” he said urgently. Embry immediately put Mara’s feet on the ground.

“It’ll be faster if I shift,” he said. He stepped away and went down on all fours, quickly becoming a large black and gray wolf. Mara had just pulled herself onto his back when Alice’s voice rang out.

“It’s too late.” 

“Get down, Mara,” Edward said, his eyes fixed at something ahead. Mara slid off Embry’s back and crouched down as the other wolves quickly surrounded her, mostly hiding her from view. He quickly ran over to the other vampires as Mara peered around the wolf in front of her - she wasn’t sure who it was - gripping Embry’s hair. She felt more than heard the rumbling growl that came from his throat and went through his body. 

“Ah, once again you seem to have taken care of the problem before we were necessary,” a happy voice rang out. Mara tried to see where it was coming from, but the wolves closed ranks around her even tighter, blocking her view.

She couldn’t help but hold her breath, praying that they wouldn’t discover her there. But part of her told her that it was impossible.

~~~

Cecily resisted the urge to turn and look back at the wolves, not wanting to alert Aro and the others to Mara’s presence. Though she figured it was only a matter of time. Even with the wolves surrounding her and blocking off most of her scent, the smell of human blood was still strong in the air. 

Instead, she stood tall, gripping Demetri’s hand tightly as the Volturi stopped just a few feet away from them. Aro turned his smile to the couple.

“I was wondering why we had not yet received an invitation to the wedding,” he said, settling his burgundy eyes on the two.

“Haven’t gotten around to it yet,” Cecily found herself saying. “The wedding, that is.” She felt Demetri’s grip tighten on her hand and for a moment, she worried she had said something wrong. But Aro only continued to grin brilliantly at them.

“Ah yes, you are still young. There is most certainly time enough for that,” he said. His eyes then scanned the rest of the group and the carnage on the ground. “Well, it seems you have finally dispatched that small nuisance.” His eyes fell on the smoldering remains of Alessandra. They then flicked back up to Demetri and Cecily. “Though I would feel much more at ease to have your reassurance that this threat is really and truly over.”

He started towards the two, his hand out. Cecily couldn’t help but look over at Demetri. As soon as she saw the firm set of his jaw and the look of determination in his eyes, she knew what he was going to do. Her stomach sank, thinking it was either really bold or really stupid. Probably both.

“As you can see, that is not necessary,” Demetri said sternly. Cecily whipped her head back over to see Aro stop, a look of surprise coming over his features. Though he quickly covered it with another pleasant smile. 

“Is that so?” he asked.

“There are only a handful left in the coven - no more than 10. I will personally hunt down and kill them, further nullifying the threat,” Demetri continued. It was Cecily’s turn to tighten her grip on his hand, preparing to speak out and say something. She wasn’t about to let him sacrifice himself just to keep her gift from the Volturi. She’d say something before he did something truly stupid. “And in exchange for this one last charge, I ask that you release me from the Volturi so that Cecily and I can spend the rest of our immortal lives together.” 

Well, fuck that. Cecily looked back at him, eyes wide and speechless. If Aro had been considering letting them off, he certainly wouldn’t now. What the hell was he doing? Demetri looked over at her, and she shook her head slightly. He smiled briefly at her and then turned back to looking at Aro. 

“I told you, brother, their bond is strong,” Marcus said lazily. Cecily looked over, seeing Aro was also peering at the aged vampire. Caius looked ready to spit fire, though somehow remained silent. The other members of the guard with them seemed unsure of what to do, though all were watching Aro. Cecily swore she saw Jane and Alec smirk at them. Aro turned back to study the couple, though glanced over at the Cullens. 

“I know,” he said. He tilted his head to the side, his eyes now fixed on them. Cecily was sure about now her heart would have been racing if she were still alive, nearly pounding out of her chest the longer he stood silent. His eyes then flicked over towards the wolves and then back at them. “Very well. You kill the rest of the coven, I will allow you to be released from the Volturi. Though, it would be rather nice if you did stop to visit from time to time.”

Cecily couldn’t help as her mouth dropped open. She was fairly sure that she wasn’t the only one. Aro scanned the rest of the group, a smile still firmly on his face. 

“It seems it is time for us to take our leave,” he said. His gaze stopped on the wolves as his smile grew and he nodded towards them. “Until we meet again.” 

He then turned and suddenly they were gone. 

Cecily stood frozen a few more moments before she felt Demetri pull her into his arms.

“Just like that?” she said, still dazed.

“I am sure there is something - Aro always has something,” he replied. “But for now, I have gained our freedom.” Cecily wrapped her arms around him, still not quite believing it. 

Demetri pulled away from her slightly, grinning down at her. Slowly, her smile began to grow. Sure they had to get rid of the rest of Alessandra’s coven, but surely that wouldn’t be all that hard. Not for the world’s greatest tracker. 

“It’s really happening,” she said. He nodded before bending down and kissing her. Cecily then pushed him away.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his brow immediately furrowing. Cecily just laughed as she continued to smile.

“I just… it’s really over?” she asked. Demetri nodded. “Like that? We get rid of a few vampires and we’re free?”

“Best to take it while we can,” he replied. Cecily stared at him a few moments.

“I think… I think it’s time for that wedding,” she said. Demetri’s eyes widened a moment before he lifted her up and swung her around. 

“Music to my ears,” he said when he put her down on the ground and kissed her again. Cecily couldn’t help but laugh. She finally pushed him away again.

“Come on, we should check on the others…”

~~~

“I swear, I’m fine,” Mara griped as Embry took her face in his hands, studying her closely. “I was nowhere near the fighting. Though my head looks like a sonofabitch.”

While he knew she was long used to his nudity, he saw her cheeks flush slightly as the other wolves began shifting around her and she kept her eyes trained on him. Sighing, Embry pulled her to his chest, holding her tightly. 

When he had smelled her there in the middle of the fight, his heart had stopped. Mara, while bullheaded, wasn’t one to put herself unnecessarily in danger. It hadn’t even crossed his mind that she might attempt to come out to the fight because he was so sure that she wouldn’t. But then somehow, there she was. And then just as he was attempting to make his way over to her, a large group of ghostly warriors had surrounded them. 

It was enough to stop not only him, but everyone else on the field in their tracks. Though thankfully their side had been faster to recover, taking advantage of the distraction to take out as many of Alessandra’s coven as they could. He had still been fighting his way over to Mara, seeing her standing with her eyes closed, her body growing pale and beginning to shake the longer the spectors appeared. 

Then it was over and she collapsed on the ground, a worried Seth dropping to his knees next to her.

But she was alive and the Volturi were gone. He was certain they could smell her, but for some unexplained reason hadn’t seen the need to acknowledge her presence, which had him worried. But for now, they were all at least safe. 

He looked down at her, his expression a mixture of anger at her being there and awe at what she had done. Which she still hadn’t explained.

“What was that?” he asked. Mara smiled up at him.

“Figured out a new trick,” she said lightly, though quickly grimaced, her hand coming up to her head. “But leaves a nasty aftertaste.”

“We should get you back and let you rest. Then you can tell me everything,” he said. 

“Dude, you’re the one who needs to be looked after,” Mara said, her eyes now scanning the various cuts and bruises on his body that were already starting to heal up. She then looked around the rest of the group. “I’m pretty sure Quil’s shoulder is broken.” 

Embry looked over, seeing the others quickly taking stock of their injuries, though Sam and Jacob were currently glaring at them. 

“And I’m not the only one unhappy with you showing up,” he said, though he looked over at the vampires, seeing them excitedly gathering around Cecily and Demetri. The absolute last thing Embry had expected was for the Volturi to so willingly let the tracker go. Instincts told him there was going to be some sort of catch. There always was with vampires. 

He also felt that this wasn’t going to be his and Mara’s last runin with the ancient vampires. 

“YES! I GET TO PLAN ANOTHER WEDDING!” Alice squealed as she launched onto Cecily. Embry rolled his eyes and looked back down at Mara, who was wincing in pain again. 

“Okay, _that_ was painful,” she said, bringing her other hand up and starting to massage her temples. 

“I’m so sorry, Embry. I tried to get her to stay, but she-”

Embry put a hand up, stopping Seth, who had just run up to them. 

“It’s okay,” he said. Knowing Mara, she probably threatened to come out on her own if Seth hadn’t helped her get there. 

“But you have to admit, it was pretty kick ass,” Seth said, now smiling at Mara. “I mean, nearly shit my pants when I saw that other ghost in the living room earlier, but that… how did you do that?” Embry looked back at Mara, his eyebrows raised. Other ghost?

“A lot of concentration,” Mara replied, still rubbing her head and grimacing. “Do you have to talk so loudly?”

“Think you can hold on? I can carry you back like this and we’d get there okay, but it’s faster if I shift,” Embry said, sensing Mara was getting to the end of her patience with the killer headache she obviously had. She hadn’t been all that wonderful with the others she got the last few times she tried to push her gift. Mara started grinning, her brown eyes lighting up as she temporarily forgot about the pain.

“I get to ride a werewolf?” she asked. Embry rolled his eyes and chuckled.

“Shapeshifter,” he muttered, though he stepped away from her and shifted. 

Mara clamored up on his back, getting settled. Embry then looked over at the others and woofed before taking off through the woods, Mara gripping his fur tightly, though he heard her laugh. 

For now, he was going to take what they got. Mara was safe and this problem was over. Hopefully it would be a long time before something else came up. 

~~~

Mara lay on her side, watching as Embry stepped out of the bathroom and headed to the dresser to get out a pair of pajama pants. The fight from earlier felt like it was ages ago - years ago - even though it had only been a few hours. After the wolves had a quick briefing at Sam’s - and she had taken as many pain killers as she could without overdosing - Embry had loaded her up in the car, making the three-and-a-half hour drive back to Seattle in record time. 

Or well, she had fallen asleep so it felt like a blink of an eye. 

After she showered she had nearly fallen asleep yet again, but sensing his presence, she was now once again awake, pushing herself up to sit in the bed as he quickly dressed and crawled in next to her. 

He was still slightly damp, but she ran her fingers over his chest, taking in the scattering of scars there. She almost couldn’t tell that he had been in a battle to the death that afternoon. 

“Think you could explain what happened now?” he asked softly. She looked up at him and nodded as he put his arm around her and pulled her closer. She settled her head on his shoulder.

“So, Dad left me a letter, telling me about… everything,” she said, going back to Emily and Sam’s living room. “And some stories about what others like us could do. One could conjure up the spirits of the dead. Communicate with them. I gave it a shot - brought Dad back.”

“Holy shit, Mara,” Embry said. She smiled softly and glanced up at him. 

“I know,” she replied.

“But… how did you… what made you come out to the fight?” he asked. 

“Well, Seth came in and said we needed to move. That things weren’t looking good and it just popped into my head,” she explained. “If I could do that with Dad, maybe I could do it with others. More than one. I know that there used to be tribes all over this land back in the day. Seemed like more than enough to distract the vampires enough. To be honest, I wasn’t completely sure it would work…”

“But you had to try something,” Embry said with a sigh, already knowing what would be her reasoning. Mara nodded. 

“And it worked,” she said.

“But you almost gave yourself an aneurysm,” Embry said. “Really should have let Carlisle look you over.” Mara waved her hand in the air. 

“The headache is gone. I’ll make an appointment to get a head scan if you’re that worried about it,” she said. Embry just tightened his hold on her and kissed her head. “But I don’t think I’m going to try doing something that big for a while. If ever. Should probably work on smaller stuff and build up to it.” 

The two were silent a few moments, allowing everything that happened that day to sink in. Everything truly was over with the vampires. They could go back to normal life. And then in a few months, they would go back up to Forks for Cecily and Demetri’s wedding. 

Mara couldn’t help as she held Embry a little bit tighter. She had almost lost him today. Hell, she had almost gotten herself killed.

“You know it’s going to be okay, right?” Embry said softly.

“I know,” she replied. “But still… a lot happened today…”

Embry sat up slightly, pulling Mara up so that he was looking into her eyes.

“I won’t let them get to you,” he vowed. Mara swallowed and nodded. She wasn’t sure if there was a whole lot Embry could do against a group of ancient, powerful vampires. She shivered slightly, remembering the brief moment she had looked between the wolves and made eye contact with the leader - Aro. She knew he had seen her. 

She knew that when he said “Until we meet again,” he was speaking directly to her. She had held her breath, her heart pounding. But then he just nodded towards her and then left. 

Mara wasn’t sure what it meant and that terrified her to an extent. There was no telling if or when they would come back or what they wanted with her. They had gotten there after the fighting stopped. 

“Hey, Mara, I told you. It’s over,” Embry said, taking her face in his large hands. She hadn’t realized that she started crying. She nodded, not yet ready to voice her fears out loud. She would - she didn’t keep secrets from Embry, after all. But right now, she didn’t want to dwell on the what-ifs. 

Instead, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.

“I love you,” she breathed, not moving away from him.

“I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, finished the last chapter and decided to just post everything in one go.
> 
> Thanks for reading and following!


	19. And Life Goes On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Months after the fight, Mara and Embry settle into a new normal. But what comes next?

**And Life Goes On**

Mara smiled to herself as she clicked ‘send’ and her latest story went off to copy-editing. She was rather proud of this one, granted she was rather proud of most of her stories. 

Five months had passed since everything with Alessandra and her coven. Mara and Embry had thrown themselves into getting back to normal, eager to move past it and try to forget about the lingering worry over the Volturi. But as the days went on and there were no other supernatural emergencies, she finally began breathing a bit more easily.

Then finally, one Saturday night as she was lying on the couch with Embry watching a movie, she realized that this was it. Life _had_ become normal again. Well, as normal as it could be considering her boyfriend was a shapeshifter and she could apparently communicate with the dead. 

But it was still perfect, boring, wonderful normal.

“You turn that story in?” Richard asked, stepping out of his office. Mara swiveled around in her chair, smiling at him as she nodded. 

“Just sent it off,” she replied. 

To say that she had been putting her gift - now that she finally understood it - to use, would be putting it lightly. It had taken a few trial and errors, but Mara was finally getting the hang of things and pushing herself at a gradual pace. She hadn’t done anything as big as what she did at the fight with Alessandra’s coven, but she was able to talk to her father for an hour without getting a headache.

And it had most definitely come in handy on her latest story.

A well known businessman had mysteriously died in his office, though, thanks to her gift, Mara knew he had been murdered by his partner. At first, she wasn’t completely sure how to go about getting the police to believe her, but after plying Anders with a few beers one night, she managed to get on his good side just enough that she could push him in the right direction. Despite the fact she was sure that he was still suspicious of her, he was a good detective and managed to get the necessary evidence to make the arrest. She just sent off the story on the arraignment and was hoping perhaps Richard would let her off early considering all the overtime she had put in.

“Alright. Good work on it. Why don’t you head out? Know you’ve got a trip this weekend,” he said, already walking back into his office. 

“Got it, boss. Thanks!” she called out, grinning as she spun back around and started powering down her laptop and packing up her bag. Even Simmons’ glare couldn’t dampen her mood as she started humming.

Soon enough, she was out of the building and getting into her car. She had texted Katie, who was sure to be heading to her house already to hang out before Mara and Embry headed to La Push for the weekend. She couldn’t help as a flurry of butterflies filled her stomach, though for the life of her, Mara wasn’t sure why. It was just like any other weekend trip up to La Push. 

Well, outside the wedding they would be attending at the Cullens’ home for Demetri and Cecily. 

Mara was honestly surprised at how quickly it had come together, though she probably shouldn’t have. It was going to be a rather intimate event - just the Cullens and their cousins from Denali. Then the packs as Cecily had become good friends with most of them back when she first turned. Not to mention, the events from a few months ago seemed to have brought all of them even more together. She and Mara chatted a couple times a week as it was. 

Mara couldn’t help but be excited - she loved a good wedding - though she wondered if the vampire event would have food and drinks. An open bar was a must for a good wedding in Mara’s mind. 

“Definitely having one at ours,” she said under her breath as she drove, though nearly froze for a moment. Where had that come from?

Quickly, she pushed the thought from her mind as she continued home and then pulled into the garage. 

“Get your ass out here!” Katie yelled as soon as Mara stepped into the house. She looked over, seeing the doors to the covered porch open and Katie already seated at the table there, a spread of food laid out and an open bottle of white in the middle of it. 

Chuckling, Mara went straight for the porch, dropping her bag on the ground as she sat, Katie already pouring her a glass. 

“What’s the occasion?” Mara asked, taking in the food as she reached for the glass.

“Uh, the fact that I haven’t seen you in a week,” Katie said matter-of-factly. 

“I talk to you every day,” Mara scoffed before taking a drink.

“Barely. You’re either off working a story or wrapped in the arms of your lover,” Katie said dramatically as she reached for her own glass. “Speaking of which, where is Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome?”

“Talking to his boss at the restaurant about his summer schedule,” Mara said, smiling at her best friend. While she tried her best to keep Katie included in her life, she had to admit that they weren’t seeing each other as often. And there were still quite a few secrets she had to keep from her. “Wants to work full-time over the summer while class is out.” Katie nodded slowly. “Sorry, it has been awhile, hasn’t it?”

Katie waved her hand in the air, her expression clearly reading that she wasn’t bothered.

“It’s fine. Besides, I know we’ll be getting tons of girl time once Embry gets into med school and then goes into his residency,” Katie said. “I’m a patient gal.” 

“Right, this is true,” Mara said, thinking it over. He only had another year to complete his undergrad and then he’d hopefully get accepted in UW’s med school. While he was keeping his options open, both of them hoped that he wouldn’t have to go out of state. 

“So, you excited about this wedding?” Katie asked, a sly smile on her face.

“Should be fun. Though, God, took forever to find a dress,” Mara said with a sigh. “Was told it would be a rather swanky event.”

“Mhmm,” Katie replied, her glass hovering just over her lips.

“Though, it’ll be good to see everyone. And we’re staying with Embry’s mom again,” Mara continued. 

“Things going well there?” Katie asked.

“Oh yea, I love Tiffany. Really sweet,” Mara said, reaching for a celery stick. “She and Mom get along really well, too. She’s planning to come down for another weekend soon now that Embry’s out of school.”

“And work is going well, I take it,” Katie said casually.

“Yea. Richard’s been giving me really good stories lately,” Mara said. “Finally.”

“So… you would say that you’re excited about going to this very romantic wedding, your career is in a stable place, your parents get along, and things are still good with Embry,” Katie said. 

“Yea, but why does that-Kates,” Mara said, finally catching onto the direction her best friend was leading the conversation. Katie just grinned brightly as she started cackling.

“I mean, it’s only natural if your thoughts started going in that direction. As your best friend, it’s my God-given duty to ask these sorts of questions,” Katie said. Mara’s face started turning slightly pink. 

She _was_ thinking something along those lines, but not seriously. She and Embry had still been together less than a year and she was determined not to let the lovey-dovey mood of the weekend take over her logical thinking capabilities. 

“So, Mara,” Katie said, sitting up in her chair and placing her glass on the table. “Do you want to marry Embry?”

“Yes,” Mara said automatically, shocking herself more so than Katie, who just started clapping her hands and laughing loudly. 

“I knew it! How long?” Katie asked.

“A while,” Mara said, once again shocking herself. She looked down into the wine glass wondering if Katie had slipped something into it. Though she quickly dismissed the idea - truth serums only existed in the realm of movies and books. “This isn’t funny, Kates.”

“Oh, yes it is. I’ve known that you guys were going to be _it_ from the moment you first started talking about him,” Katie said gleefully, reaching for her wine glass. Mara frowned at her.

“Did not,” she declared.

“So did,” Katie said. “Your mom too.”

“You have not been talking about this with Mom,” Mara said, her eyes wide. Katie just laughed in response.

“Get over yourself. You know your mom loves Embry,” Katie said. “I’m thinking an outdoor wedding…”

“Oh my god, Kates. Stop,” Mara said, though she couldn’t help the smile tugging at her lips.

“You want Richard to walk you down the aisle? Hmm, or I guess your mom could do it. Obviously, I’m maid of honor. And the wedding planner,” Katie continued. “Lord knows, you can’t plan an event to save your life.”

“Seriously, Kates,” Mara said, still chuckling.

“Open bar is a must,” Katie said emphatically.

“A must for what?” a deep voice said from behind the women.

Mara jumped as her eyes widened and her face turned a brighter shade of red. Embry smiled as he walked out onto the porch, winking at Mara before looking at Katie, who had turned in her chair to look at him.

“You know, for a big guy, you are surprisingly quiet when you move,” Katie said, grinning at him.

“Hunter instincts,” Embry said, now taking in the spread of food.

“We were just talking about-”

“The wedding this weekend,” Mara shouted, interrupting Katie. Both Katie and Embry looked over at her, though Katie was wearing an impish grin while Embry had a curious expression. From the twitch of his lips, Mara knew he had heard far more of the conversation than Mara wanted him to.

“Oh yea? You packed?” he asked, popping a cherry tomato in his mouth and then crossing his arms in front of his chest. Mara nodded quickly.

“Yep, ready to go tomorrow morning,” she squeaked before taking a large gulp of her wine.

“Ah, but I get her tonight, big boy,” Katie said, looking over at Embry. “I mean, you can join us, of course, but I’m getting my Mara time in before you leave for a romantic weekend.” Embry chuckled.

“I doubt the two of squeezing into my old room at my mom’s place is romantic,” he replied. Katie huffed and rolled her eyes.

“There’s a lot of forest out there - you’ll find a way,” she said.

“KATES!” Mara shrieked, sending her best friend into another fit of giggles. Embry’s entire body shook as he fought to suppress his own laughter.

“First of all, how long have I been your best friend? I know you’re no prude, Mara,” Katie said, pointing her finger at her. “Secondly, you fucking live together. And lastly, Embry grew up in that area, so I’m sure he knows all the spots.”

Mara sat back in her chair, rolling her eyes, though she started to chuckle at her best friend. She looked over at Embry.

“I do know all the best spots,” he said, starting to grin.

“I hate you. Both of you,” Mara said, shaking her head. 

“Yea, no. You love us,” Katie said. “Get a glass and join us, Embry.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied, turning to walk back into the house, though he shot Mara a grin. 

“I’m serious - marry him the first chance you get,” Katie said, lowering her voice. Mara only chuckled in reply, knowing that Embry likely heard that too. She looked in the house, seeing that he had paused in the living room, though his back was to them.

“I’ll think about it,” she said finally, starting to grin as she saw Embry’s shoulders begin to shake in silent laughter as he started walking again. “But enough about me, how are things with Brandon?”

“Oh, god. No. Two dates was enough. But I am going out with this guy - Mark - this weekend. One of the girls on my team, Lily, she’s setting us up,” Katie said, seeming happy to go on about her own dating life and stop teasing Mara. 

Mara settled in her chair again, taking another drink as she focused on Katie’s story. 

But she couldn’t help as one last thought on the subject flew through her mind.

She most definitely would marry Embry someday.


	20. To a Future Yet Unknown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mara and Embry go back to Forks for Cecily and Demetri's wedding and everyone wonders what the future holds.

**To a Future Yet Unknown**

Cecily just stared at herself in the mirror, unable to speak or move. 

Of course, it wasn’t the first time she had seen the dress. Or even seen herself in the dress. But there was something about seeing the full effect of it all together with her hair pulled back into a low updo on the back of her neck and her makeup done. 

“You do like it, don’t you?” Alice asked nervously from behind her. “I mean, we can do something different with the hair or makeup, I just thought this was best with the veil. We have enough-”

Cecily turned and pulled the woman into a hug, nearly crushing her.

“THE DRESS! YOU’LL WRINKLE IT!” Alice shouted.

Cecily laughed as she let Alice go and turned back to the mirror, once again taking in how she looked. If someone had told her a few years ago that someday she would be standing in a beautiful, lace wedding dress about to walk down the aisle, she probably would have called them crazy. Cecily Stewart wasn’t built to get married or fall in love. She had one goal in life - to tell the stories that needed to be told and take down as many bad guys as she could.

Turned out when one was a vampire, you could do it all.

Cecily couldn’t help but run her hands over the fabric, taking in the soft texture. Part of her had been terrified that Alice was going to try and put her in some sort of poufy ball gown, or diamond-encrusted mermaid dress - neither of which were very her. But from the very first dress the pixie-like vampire had made her try on, Cecily relaxed, remembering this was Alice. The woman had a gift for dressing people.

Cecily turned slightly, seeing the open back that left the tattoo she had gotten in university on display. The dress was pure lace and cascaded down her body in a way that even Cecily had to admit was flattering, a short train following behind her. It had a simple silhouette with tiny straps holding it up and a slightly low, but still classy v-neckline. Most importantly, well, to Cecily at least, it was incredibly comfortable, and she couldn’t help but feel as though it had been made specifically for her. Wait… maybe it had been…

“Where exactly did you find this dress again?” Cecily asked, glancing at her, remembering that Alice had randomly brought it to the house one day, declaring she had found _the dress_. Alice just grinned.

“I didn’t tell you? It’s a custom design, if you must know. I saw it in a vision,” she replied brightly as she picked up the veil and gently fastened it to Cecily’s bright red hair. “There… finished…”

Cecily turned around to face Alice, feeling her eyes water up slightly. She nearly couldn’t believe that they had pulled off planning a wedding in the time they had, but then again, never underestimate Alice Cullen when it came to a wedding.

“Oh, Cecily…”

The two women turned, seeing Esme stop just as she walked into the room, a grin filling her face. The next second, she was in front of Cecily, pulling her into a hug.

“You look beautiful,” she said softly. 

“Thanks,” Cecily said. She looked past Esme to see Bella, Rosalie and Renesmee walk into the room. “How is he?”

Rosalie smirked as she glanced over at Bella and then walked over to Cecily.

“Let’s just say I’m pretty sure hell has frozen over,” Rosalie said. Cecily frowned, not exactly sure what she could be talking about. “Demetri is… get this… _nervous_.”

Cecily’s eyebrows shot up as her mouth dropped open. There was no way Demetri - former Volturi guard - could possibly be nervous. It was just a wedding. One that he had insisted on several times, though Cecily wasn’t even sure why it mattered. It wasn’t like they had to go through all the legal pomp and circumstance that humans did.

He had faced down rogue vampires and countless other dangers in the 2,000 years he had been alive. And _this_ was what made him nervous.

“Pretty sure he still thinks you’re going to skip town on him or something,” Renesmee said, grinning mischievously. Cecily snorted.

“I flippin’ flew all the way to Greece to rescue his ass and he thinks I might run,” she said, rolling her eyes. “That man…”

“You are intimidating, you know,” a voice said from the door. Cecily looked over, seeing Mara and Embry walking into the room. “Hope you don’t mind. Just wanted to say hi before you got too distracted.”

She was dressed in a delicate light blue eyelet dress that hit her below the knee. But from the way Embry couldn’t take his eyes off her, you’d think she was in a wedding dress of her own. Cecily chuckled and walked over, hugging her. Probably wouldn’t be too much longer for those two.

“Thank you so much for coming,” she said. Mara laughed.

“And miss a fancy Cullen wedding? I think not. Seth wouldn’t shut up about the last one,” Mara said, stepping back from her. “You look amazing.” 

“Thanks,” Cecily said. 

“Okay, it’s nearly time,” Alice said. While her voice was pleasant, Cecily could tell that she was seconds away from slipping into wedding planner-zilla. Seeing as Cecily had been a rather laidback bride for the entire process it seemed fitting that someone should fill the roll. She turned back to Mara and Embry, smiling at them.

“We’ll get to our seats. See you on the other side,” Mara said before she and Embry stepped out of the room. 

Cecily walked back to the mirror, looking at herself one last time.

“You ready?” Rosalie asked. Cecily looked at her, a brilliant grin on her face. 

“Never been more ready.”

~~~

“Where were you guys?” Paul asked as Embry and Mara took their seats among the rest of the packs.

“Just had to talk to the bride,” Mara said lightly. Embry caught the grin on Paul’s face and knew what was about to come out of his mouth before it even opened.

“Say Mara,” he said.

“Paul,” Embry said in warning, cutting him off and hoping to save her from embarrassment.

Sure, he had overheard her conversation with Katie the night before. And truthfully, he had been thinking the same thing for the last few months as well. But it wasn’t something he wanted to discuss with the others before he and Mara actually talked about it.

“What? Just wanted to say that you look beautiful today,” Paul said. Mara gave him an odd look, likely guessing that wasn’t what he had intended to say.

“Thanks,” she replied.

Paul looked around at the simply, but elegantly decorated clearing near the Cullens’ house.

“So, you guys thinking about an outdoor wedding?” he asked breezily. 

Embry groaned softly as Mara whipped her head over to look at Paul, her eyes wide. Her cheeks were already coloring.

“Should ask you the same thing. How long since you imprinted on Rachel?” Mara shot back. Embry couldn’t help but chuckle. Mara certainly could handle her own with the wolves.

“Trust me, _I’ve_ been asking,” Rachel muttered from Paul’s other side, earning more chuckles from the group. Mara met Embry’s eyes as she smiled smugly. Paul looked slightly stricken, as though he hadn’t anticipated the tables turning this quickly.

“Better get on it,” Embry said casually. Paul narrowed his eyes at him.

“Do you want me to tell Mara what’s been going through your mind?” he asked. Embry laughed.

“You don’t know a damn thing now that we’re back in separate packs,” he said nonchalantly. 

“Damn,” Paul cursed under his breath. Embry looked over at Mara, who was laughing at Paul. He couldn’t help as his heart swelled.

When he had walked into his old room earlier to see if she was ready yet and saw her in the dress, he couldn’t help but lose all train of thought for a few moments. She looked amazing. And then when they had visited Cecily, he couldn’t help as his mind began wondering what sort of dress Mara would wear in their wedding.

With the nature of wolves and imprinting, of course they had both known for a long time that there would eventually be a wedding. But it had seemed like some far-off, future thing. Being here made it seem all too real.

And Embry found he didn’t want to wait. Couldn’t wait.

He wanted to see Mara walking down the aisle towards him. He wanted to pledge to love and support and protect her for the rest of their lives before their friends and family. 

But right now wasn’t the time to get caught up in that, he realized. It was Cecily and Demetri’s big day and he certainly didn’t want to take the spotlight from them. He and Mara, they had time. And he wanted to make it special, when he finally did ask her.

“If you guys are done giving Paul a hard time, I think it’s starting,” Mara said, lowering her voice. 

The rest of the pack quieted down as music started up. Up at the front, Demetri stepped out with Emmett, Jackson and Edward behind him. Carlisle stood on a platform to officiate.

Embry looked back at the house, seeing Bella start down the aisle in a light green dress. Rosalie and Alice then followed behind, wearing similar dresses. There was a break and then Cecily stepped out of the house with Esme escorting her. The two women started down the aisle, but it was obvious that Cecily only had eyes for Demetri. Embry turned to look at the front, seeing a look of utter enrapture on the tracker’s face. 

It was as though the only thing that existed in his world was Cecily.

Embry couldn’t help as he put his arm around Mara and pulled her close to him, kissing her cheek. She looked up at him, smiling with tears in her eyes. 

For a moment, it felt as if they were the only two people in the world.

~~~

“When I met you… I was in a place in my life when I thought I was alone. That there was no one I could trust except myself. And then… you came along,” Cecily said. Demetri tightened his grip on her heads, a grin on his face. “I ran from you in the beginning. Thought it was utter bullshit, this whole mate thing.” There were a few chuckles.

Cecily opened her mouth to say the next part of her vows, but stopped, finding herself lost in his eyes as their entire shared history ran through her mind. 

She had been lost. Alone. Had been searching for home and acceptance, though she didn’t realize it at the time. Then she found that with the Cullens. And then she found Demetri.

The real Demetri.

The man that loved her and accepted her. Who wanted nothing more than to be at her side and love her for the rest of their days - which would never end, hopefully. This was something that Cecily had never even dared to dream of. And here it was in front of her.

“The Cullens taught me to open my heart again. But you… you taught me it was okay to love,” she whispered. “And so, I vow from this day forward, to be at your side. To love you. To be your partner in all things.” 

Demetri squeezed her hands but didn’t speak just yet. He looked to the ground and then met her eyes again.

“I was changed a long time ago. Thought that there was nothing more in this life that would surprise me or enthrall me than what I already had,” he said. “And then you - loud, brash, independent, wonderful you - came along. I knew from the moment I saw you that you, Cecily Stewart, were going to change my life. But I didn’t realize just how much.” He went silent and Cecily gripped his hands tighter. It was almost as if everyone else had faded into the background and it was only them.

“You have changed me in ways I never thought possible. In ways I honestly thought that I could not. I didn’t want to. But then you came into my life like the whirlwind you are, and nothing was the same,” he said. “I promise that I will always be at your beck and call. To love you. Support you. Be at your side and be a partner in whatever it is you endeavor to do… from now until eternity.”

Cecily couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face as he slid the simple gold band on her finger. He, of course, had wanted to give her a proper engagement ring that likely would have weighed a ton and cost more. But all she wanted was simple bands. That’s all they needed in her mind.

“I can now pronounce you husband and wife,” Carlisle said. Before he could say “You may now kiss,” Demetri had pulled Cecily to him, wrapping his arms around her as he kissed her passionately. 

There were shouts and whistles - likely from the wolf packs - and polite applause. When Cecily stepped back and stared into his eyes, she was too overwhelmed to speak. 

“What is it, my love?” Demetri asked, before they made their walk back down the aisle.

“Just… it’s perfect…”

~~~

Mara chuckled at a joke that Quil had just told, standing in a small group near a bar and few tables of food put out for the guests that did eat and drink. For probably the 50th time since the reception started, she found her eyes drifting over to Cecily and Demetri, who were moving gracefully around the dancefloor. They weren’t the only ones, but she couldn’t help but be enchanted by the sight of them.

Cecily looked gorgeous in her simple dress while Demetri was dashing in his tux. But it was the way they looked at each other - the way they moved together - that had her fixated. She could almost see the love pouring out of them to each other.

“What is it?” Embry asked softly, his breath brushing against her ear and causing a shiver to go down her spine. She looked up at him as he slid his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. 

“Just… really happy for them,” she said, looking back at the couple. 

Embry took the glass of champagne out of her hand and put it down on the table, then started leading her out to the dancefloor. Mara chuckled.

“Figure we should show the bloodsuckers that they aren’t the only ones who can dance,” he said with a smile. Mara rolled her eyes as she settled one hand on his shoulder and he held her other out, his large hand now resting on her waist.

They began moving slowly, keeping in time with the song. Mara glanced at Cecily and Demetri again and then looked up at Embry, sighing happily.

“It really was beautiful,” she said. Embry stared down at her intently, nodding.

“It was,” he said softly. Mara chuckled.

“What? Something on my face?” she quipped. Embry smiled and shook his head.

“Just… listening to their vows… made me think of you,” he said. Mara raised her eyebrows. She had actually thought of him as well, but she was eager to hear his thoughts first, so didn’t speak. “I honestly thought I wasn’t going to imprint and then… you came along out of nowhere. Completely turned my world upside down.” She laughed.

“I think I should be the one saying that, considering,” she replied. 

“I know… but even with all the craziness… this feels right. It feels like…” he trailed off, as though he was searching for the right word.

“Like home?” Mara offered. Embry grinned.

“Yes. You are my home, Mara,” he said.

“You’re my home too, Embry,” she nearly whispered. He bent down, capturing her lips in a gentle kiss. 

“Marry me, Mara,” he whispered, his lips still brushing against hers.

“Yes,” she said almost immediately, just as breathless. 

In that moment, everything clicked into place. Much like it had when she first heard that Embry had imprinted on her. She knew that this man holding her was her partner for life. And that whatever came next - be it another supernatural disaster or centuries old vampires out to get her - she could face it as long as Embry was with her.

Embry leaned away, a brilliant grin filling his face.

“That was easy,” he commented. Mara laughed.

“We both know you heard more of that conversation last night than you let on,” she replied. “Though, for the sake of the newlyweds, maybe we should hold off on announcing anything tonight?”

“Agreed,” he replied before kissing her again.

They stopped moving as Embry wrapped both arms around her, pulling her closer. Mara slid her hands up his chest and wrapped them around his neck. She could vaguely hear a whistle or two from the pack, but she didn’t care.

She loved Embry and in that moment, that’s all that mattered.

~~~

“So… Mr. Cullen… what comes next?” Cecily asked, grinning at Demetri as they slowly moved around the dancefloor.

“Anything… Mrs. Cullen,” he said. Cecily chuckled.

“And you’re sure about using Cullen as a last name?” she asked. 

“Seems fitting. They are the family that took us two ragamuffins in,” he said. “Better than Volturi.” 

“This is true. Though… we could always make up our own,” Cecily suggested. “The world is our oyster now that we’ve fulfilled our promise to the Volturi.” Demetri nodded slowly. “But no need to decide now. We literally have all the time in the world.” 

“That we do,” Demetri said, bending down to kiss her softly on the lips. “Are you ready for our honeymoon?”

“Yes. A trip that doesn’t involve killing rogue vampires is definitely what I need right now,” she said, smiling.

“And… no family to interrupt us,” Demetri said, smirking slightly. Cecily felt a jolt of desire run through her but put it aside for now. They still had all their wedding guests around them.

“You going to tell me where we’re going?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. Demetri was silent a few moments.

“I thought it best that I take you back to my home. If I’m going to truly share everything, then it would help if you could see it,” he said. Cecily’s eyes widened.

“We’re going to Greece?” she asked. 

“One of many stops. I intend to spend a good several months traveling on our honeymoon,” Demetri said. Cecily chuckled.

“You vampires and money,” she said. Demetri stopped moving as he gazed down into her eyes.

“I would gladly give it up - everything up - for you,” he said. “I love you, Cecily.” 

“I love you too.”

~~~

Aro looked down at the wedding announcement that had just come in the post.

“It seems they have made it official,” he said, looking up at Caius and Marcus. Caius glowered while Marcus returned to reading his book.

“I still do not understand why you let him go,” Caius said. “He was great asset. How are we to track down others now?”

“Patience, dear Caius. They will come back to us,” Aro replied, looking down at the photo of Cecily and Demetri on their wedding day. “You forget how long he was in service to us. There are always ways to draw him back.” 

“I don’t see how. Now that he has his mate, he will never return,” Caius said. Aro flicked his eyes up to him.

“As I said, there are ways,” he said smoothly as he dropped the photo and announcement on his desk. “I’m actually quite curious to see what they do together. Cecily, she has a gift, I can tell… it will be interesting to see what they can accomplish.” 

Caius stared at him, slightly perplexed but then looked away, deciding it better not to question Aro on that.

“And what about the human woman?” he asked instead.

“Ah, yes. That will be interesting as well. I thought it prudent not to take her whilst she was amidst the shapeshifters. No doubt her mate would have made a fuss,” Aro said. “Though I do think it fortunate that Alessandra was not successful in her endeavor. I feel there is more for her to learn before she is turned.”

“Is that so?” Caius asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Yes. It was rather unfortunate her father was killed when he was. Such a waste of… talent,” Aro replied. “But I feel that she might be more powerful than he. It will be very interesting indeed to see how she develops.” 

“So, we wait… more,” Caius said dryly. Aro looked at him, his stare now cold and calculating.

“Yes, Caius. We wait.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why can I not end this series!? Every story I write, the ending that comes to me is soo open-ended. I’m not sure if I’ll write more, but for now I think it’s at a good spot. We shall see…
> 
> Thanks to everyone who read this story!


End file.
